Static
by Antharyn
Summary: Proximity takes its toll on Kira and Hisagi, and their relationship lies in ruins. Now Kira's life is in peril and a guilt-stricken Hisagi is going to have to fight hell and high waters to save his friend's life. Post-betrayal. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Static

**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei x Kira Izuru

**Rating:** PG-13 because blood and the slaughter of masked monstrosities are involved.

**Warnings:** Yaoi. Mild violence (poor Hollows)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**A/N:** And I did not post this here why? Ugh. Holes in my brain, srsly. To those of you awaiting the next chapters of my other multi-chaptered fics, forgive me for taking so long. This is the fic I am concentrating on now, but I've not given up on the others! Just a heads up, my pretties.

**Summary:** Post-SS arc. Betrayal is a blade that cuts deeply, and you have to wonder who you can really trust.

**In this chapter:** Hisagi helps a wounded Kira, and proximity takes its toll.

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Kazeshini made a satisfying crunch as it clove through a hollow's mask, ripping flesh from bone. The creature reared back and screeched in pain before it shimmered away into nothingness, its dying scream fading out into the night just as the another hollow shrieked and lunged at Hisagi.

Without thinking, he moved, launching another offensive. There was a blur of white and gold as Kira met him halfway, decapitating the hollow from behind just as Hisagi sliced through its torso. Another one appeared and yet another. Sweat gathered across Hisagi's brow as he blocked blow after blow with Kira at his side. Slowly but efficiently they cleaned the area of the abominable beasts until Hisagi felt Kira's _reiatsu_ flare up then explode. The entire square was suddenly engulfed in bright white light and Hisagi threw his arms up to shield his eyes.

When the light faded and Hisagi could see again the hollows were gone. A cold moment of panic gripped him when he couldn't find Kira then relaxed when he spotted him standing to one side of the square, breathing heavily. Even in the almost total darkness, the blond's hair shone under what little light the night had to offer. Kira let out a soft sigh and Hisagi, knowing what was coming next, switched to shunpo and caught him as he fell, their zanpakutous falling useless to the ground. Together they sank down on the cold cobblestones, dark hollow blood drying on their skin, and silent save for their panting breaths.

"We're getting too old for this," Hisagi muttered after a few moments of silence. Beside him Kira groaned tiredly in agreement. The blond had his eyes closed and his brows were drawn together as he tried to catch his breath.

"The others?" He asked softly, his arm moving across his torso to clutch a stitch on his side.

"They'll be fine," Hisagi assured him. "They're tough. And I think we got the worst of it." Kira nodded and Hisagi moved so they could lean against the nearest wall. The movement made Kira gasp, and his face tightened in pain. Hisagi looked at him in alarm and his gaze dropped to the hand Kira had clasped to his side. His fingers were red with blood.

Hisagi took a deep breath. "Let me see," he said with calm urgency.

Kira opened his eyes and blue shone bright in the darkness. "It's nothing," he argued but Hisagi would have none of it. Quick fingers gripped his wrist and gently but firmly moved his hand until the brunet could see the wound through the tear in his uniform.

"A puncture wound," Hisagi said but Kira shook his head.

"It's not." The blond tried to scoot away but Hisagi was already moving, pushing him back so he was settled against the cold stone wall. Kira tried to evade his hands and catch his gaze but the brunet had his eyes focused on the wound, dark brows furrowed in concentration and worry.

A cool finger pressed down on the wound and Kira hissed in pain. Hisagi looked up quickly and their eyes met for a moment. Something seemed to flash between them and Kira slowly stilled under Hisagi's hands as the brunet continued his examination. Hisagi poked and prodded around the wound gently, growing increasingly flustered at the blood wetting his fingers.

"Right," he said after a while. "Not a puncture wound." He looked away and made a show of digging into his pockets for something so he wouldn't see Kira's indulgent smile.

Kira stifled a snort and gazed at him fondly, feeling affection well up from somewhere inside him. The wound wasn't all that bad. He wouldn't have worried about it the way Hisagi did and seeing the normally stoic brunet so flustered amused Kira to no end. He watched his friend pat himself down over and over again and sighed.

"You could never be in the fourth division, Hisagi-san," he said as he reached into his own pocket. "You wouldn't know what to do." He fished out some gauze and promptly handed it to his friend.

Hisagi's lip twitched at the honorific but he took the offered gauze wordlessly. Now that he knew Kira's wound wasn't serious he had lost most of the urgency but still retained the concern. "I'll never be as good as you when it comes to healing anyway," he said as he fumbled with the gauze wrapper then set it aside. "You'll have to remove your top."

Kira nodded and sat up a little straighter. Hisagi moved to help him peel his uniform off his shoulders until he could see the wound clearly. It was a long jagged cut along one side of his abdomen, just below his ribs. It looked angry against Kira's pale skin but otherwise wasn't serious at all. "It's not too deep and I don't think it's poisoned," Hisagi said as he wiped the blood from the cut and peeled the gauze away from its wrapper. He gently placed it over the wound and smoothed it firmly into place. "This should stop the bleeding but you should still have it checked out at the fourth as soon as we get back." He pressed down on the gauze one last time then looked at Kira. "I think you'll survive," he said with a grin.

Kira meant to smile back but ended up blinking at the proximity of his friend's face instead. He felt his own face heat up. Hisagi was far too close and a strange wave of longing swept through him all of a sudden. It had been too long since he had had more than the perfunctory physical contact with anyone. Rangiku had held him to her after Ichimaru deserted them and Momo, when she had finally woken up, had cried into his chest and let him cry into her hair throughout her first night back with them.

But once the shock of the betrayal had subsided, once the deluge of grief was dammed, they had all tiptoed on eggshells around him as though they were afraid one wrong move would shatter him beyond repair. Kira's heart clenched painfully in his chest when he realized he couldn't remember the last time any of his friends came to see him or the last time he talked—really talked—to any of them.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Hisagi's voice pulled him back from his gloomy thoughts and Kira looked at him to see that he had pulled away so that they were at a comfortable distance from each other again. He swallowed a sigh of relief and gathered his thoughts about him. In the turmoil that was his life after his Captain left, only Hisagi had stayed with him—really _stayed_ with him. Maybe it was because the betrayal cut Hisagi as deeply as it cut him and they somehow understood each other better than any of the others could. In any case, Kira was grateful and would never do anything to damage what he had with his friend.

"They're not worth that much," he said after a few moments and smiled when Hisagi did.

A cool breeze blew past them and Kira's attention was brought back to his half-naked state. He flushed and Hisagi blinked in surprise then smirked once he realized what it was all about.

Kira's flush deepened and he rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Doctor Shuuhei," he said sarcastically and started fumbling with his uniform. "Now help me get dressed before the others arrive and accuse you of sexual harassment."

Hisagi laughed and started helping him back into his uniform. They reached for Kira's left sleeve at the same time and their fingers brushed against each other. Kira tensed slightly at the unexpected contact then let it pass. "Thanks," he muttered when Hisagi smoothed the heavy fabric over his chest with his hands.

"Does it still hurt?" Hisagi asked, his eyes glued to where Kira's wound was hidden beneath his uniform.

"Not much," The blond patted the wound through the cloth.

Hisagi grinned. "Think you can make it home without dying on me?"

"Hisagi-san, I can make it all the way to the war if you want," Kira said then gasped. He looked up suddenly as if his brain had just caught up with his words and then seemed to deflate right before the brunet's eyes. "Sorry," he muttered and went quiet.

Hisagi frowned and tried to look his friend in the eye. When the blond kept his head down he gave up and sighed. Having known the blond as long as he had, he had seen Kira's mood swings before—too many times to count, in fact. Kira had been known to go from ecstatic to edgy or calm to livid in two seconds flat. But it had never been anything Hisagi couldn't handle. Only lately had he noticed that ever since Aizen's defection Kira had been lapsing into longer and more worrying gloomy spells. They never talked about it and he knew that was a mistake yet to ask his friend about it…Hisagi didn't want to know how it would turn out. He couldn't deal with it, not right now when his own hurts were still healing.

In front of him, Kira stayed silent. Hisagi shook his head and decided to let the matter go. "Listen," he said finally and drew the blond's attention back to him. "Be more careful next time, okay?"

Kira smiled gently, the awkwardness from earlier already gone. "You're one to talk," he said, lifting a hand to touch Hisagi's cheek. When he pulled it back, there was blood on his fingers. Hisagi lifted his own hand to where Kira had touched him. It stung. "Shit," he muttered and went about finding some gauze for himself.

Kira fished into his own pockets looking for one and frowned when he couldn't find any. He heard Hisagi mutter something about having some _somewhere_ and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Here, let me." He moved to kneel alongside his friend and lifted a hand to Hisagi's cheek again, letting it hover about an inch from actually touching him.

Hisagi went still as soft blue light started to radiate from Kira's palm. Within moments he felt the wound start to sting and he winced. "That hurts," he complained and Kira grabbed his chin firmly with his other hand. "Keep still," he heard the blond mutter and he sighed and tried to do just that. Slowly he felt the wound knit itself. He clenched his jaw against the minor discomfort until it disappeared entirely and he felt Kira's finger trace a fine line across his cheek where the wound used to be.

"Thanks," he said with a smile and traced his own thumb across the newly healed skin. It itched a little but he didn't think anyone in the fourth division could have done a better job. There was movement in front of him and he looked up to see Kira sway on the spot. He automatically caught him and settled him on his back against the wall.

The blond smiled in thanks. "Sorry," he said and leaned his head back against the wall. He closed his eyes. He was absolutely exhausted.

"That blast spell you used earlier," he heard Hisagi say, concern laced in his voice. "That was in the sixties, wasn't it?"

"Blast spell sixty-three."

Hisagi let out a low whistle of admiration. "Wow," Hisagi said with exaggerated awe. He grinned when Kira opened his eyes and glared warningly. Compliments always made the blond uncomfortable so Hisagi made sure he took his extolling a step higher than he usually would with anyone else. He always meant them, though.

"When did you learn it?" He asked. Kira had closed his eyes again and mumbled something unintelligible. Hisagi wondered worriedly if maybe his friend had used too much kidou for one night. He brushed Kira's cheek with a finger to wake him.

Kira felt warmth from an unknown source gently caress his cheek and he unconsciously sought it out. He opened his eyes. Hisagi's face was again inches from his own, hovering over him worriedly. The stray thought that Hisagi had such fascinating eyes and that it was impossible for the colour of steel to hold such warmth entered Kira's head. Without really thinking he reached out and gently traced the tattoo on the brunet's cheek.

Hisagi blinked. Something in the air around them changed. "Kira?" He said softly. His voice was hoarse and low. A gust of wind blew in, ruffling Kira's hair and blowing his bangs into his face. For a moment the spell seemed to break and Hisagi was able to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat from the look in Kira's eyes. He lifted a hand to brush the blond strands from Kira's face…

…just as the younger shinigami leaned up to kiss him.

It was so sudden, the contact electric. Hisagi almost drew back at the feel of Kira's lips on his. But it was familiar warmth, the blond's lips over his, and his body welcomed the contact, meeting Kira halfway. Long, elegant fingers combed through his hair and he found himself staring at the way Kira's lashes curled gently against his cheek before he let his eyes drift shut and his mind go blank.

He had kissed Kira before—had slept with him before. He knew the feel and taste of his skin, and the sounds he made if you touched him just right. The kiss was slow and tender, the way it always was when Kira made the first move. Warmth traveled through Hisagi's body in a slow unhurried wave when the blond got up on his knees and took his face in his hands. He wrapped an arm around Kira to steady him as the blond leaned in even closer, moving his lips over Hisagi's carefully, almost uncertainly, as if he hadn't already mapped out the other's skin down to the last inch. Hisagi threaded his fingers through Kira's blond hair and the younger shinigami sighed, his lips parting slightly against the brunet's.

Kira's eyes fluttered open momentarily when he felt Hisagi pull him tighter against him. A hand cupped his cheek and thumbed the smooth skin just above the arch of his cheekbone, making him shiver. He let his eyes slip shut. He had missed this; missed the feel of a warm body against his, missed the feel of strong arms wrapped around him. The hand in his hair tightened slightly and a soft moan escaped his lips.

Hisagi broke the kiss.

"What are we doing?" the brunet said breathlessly and Kira opened his eyes.

Hisagi was staring at him bewilderedly, quiet confusion clearly written on his face. Kira's heart thudded painfully in his chest. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered and felt his face heat up alarmingly. He pulled away from Hisagi, still disoriented, and was surprised when the older shinigami took his face in his hands and pulled him close. Kira held his breath until he felt the smooth skin of Hisagi's forehead against his. Sword-callused hands slid down his face and came to rest on his shoulders. He swallowed audibly when warm breath caressed his cheek.

"We shouldn't," Hisagi said gently. He tightened his grip on his friend when he felt the blond try to pull away. His body still tingled from the kiss they just shared but he ignored it and focused on his friend in an entirely different way. Leaning back slightly, he studied the younger shinigami under the dim moonlight without letting go of him.

Kira's eyes darted frantically from his former sempai's face to the ground and then back again, unsure of what to do, what to say. His mind raced, trying to think of something to break the ice. Neither of them moved, seemingly frozen in the moment, and Kira began to feel the weight of heavy silence fall over them slowly until he thought he could hear his own heart beating in his chest.

When he could finally meet Hisagi's eyes again, the brunet was still staring at him. It made Kira uncomfortable which was a bad sign. Hisagi never made Kira uncomfortable. He felt cold all of a sudden and when Hisagi opened his mouth to speak, he cut him off immediately.

"Don't," he said firmly, hoping it didn't sound too much like the plea it was. "Just...don't."

The brunet looked at him sadly and Kira turned away, ashamed. Hisagi saw the way the blond's cheeks burned and decidedly kept his mouth shut.

Then there was a disturbance in the night air as several shinigami flashed in at once. He and Kira were up in one fluid motion.

"Fukutaichou," a shinigami he recognized to be one of Kira's men bowed low. Kira quickly stepped past Hisagi to listen to the report.

"The town has been cleared of Hollows," the shinigami said. There was another whoosh of air as several more shinigami appeared, Hisagi's men among them. "There were no casualties, sirs, but Kimura is injured and can't be moved. Hayami stayed with him and we've called the fourth. They should be here shortly."

Kira nodded then turned to Hisagi. His eyes were absent of the emotions from earlier--cold and unreadable. It was the 3rd Division Lieutenant talking now. "Mission accomplished," he said and the brunet nodded, turning to his own men.

"Unlock the senkaimon," Hisagi ordered and his men rushed to comply. He could hear Kira giving instructions to his own men and was puzzled when one by one the members of the Third Division disappeared until only Kira and his third seat remained.

"You go ahead," the blond told him, nodding to the senkaimon which was beginning to open. "I have to check on my 5th seat."

"We can stay in case you need back-up," Hisagi said immediately but the blond shook his head.

"We'll be fine."

Hisagi started to protest when the blond leveled him with a defiant glare, the mask Kira always wore when on duty slipping ever so slightly. He bit back the reprimand that hovered on the tip of his tongue and turned to the shinigami standing behind Kira. "He's wounded," he said. Ignoring the way his friend's eyes flashed angrily, he spoke directly to the 3rd seated officer. "Have the fourth division take a look at him as soon as possible." He waited for the man to acknowledge his order before looking back at Kira.

"Bastard," the blond hissed. Hisagi smirked ruthlessly.

"The senkaimon has been successfully opened, Hisagi-fukutaichou."

Kira's eyes turned to the portal before looking back at Hisagi. His glare had grown icy. He nodded curtly then turned to leave. Hisagi grabbed his arm before he could, glaring at the younger shinigami.

"Kira…" he said warningly but the blond wrenched himself free.

"No," Kira said tightly then flash-stepped away, leaving Hisagi to stare at the empty space where he his friend had just been. Kira's third seat stared at him at a loss for words before he bowed almost apologetically and disappeared himself.

"Shit," Hisagi muttered, wondering if he should go after his friend.

"Fukutaichou?" Someone called behind him and he turned to see all his men staring at him, waiting for instructions. _Can't even get through a portal without being told what to do_, he thought to himself irately as he stared at their faces. He immediately regretted thinking it. It wasn't their fault they had to look to him now. He turned back to look in the direction Kira took off in and sighed.

"All right, let's go," he said and stepped toward the glowing portal. His men followed quietly behind him and Hisagi let himself disappear into the light without a backward glance.

**TBC**

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**A/N: **Like? No like? Let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Static

**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei x Kira Izuru

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Yaoi. Lots of angst in this chapter and you're probably going to want to kill one, if not both, of these two idiots.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**A/N:** Thank you, guys, for the reviews in the last chapter and for adding this story to your fave's and/or story alerts list. It makes trying to finish this worthwhile. XD Anyway, this takes place right after where I left off in Chapter One. In Livejournal, I posted this chapter about six months after the first chapter but since the next one is coming along nicely, and since this is done anyway, I won't keep you waiting. This chapter was a birthday gift to my dear friend, Ceestar.

**Summary:** Post-SS arc. Betrayal is a blade that cuts deeply, and you have to wonder who you can really trust.

**In this chapter:** Things fall apart as Hisagi tries to fix what isn't broken.

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Running away from him was the easy part--had _always_ been the easy part. The hard part was hiding.

Hisagi was already waiting for him when he got back to Seireitei. Kira almost smiled at him in greeting before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be happy to see him.

"You'd think," Hisagi began as he calmly stepped out from the shadows to stand in front of Kira. "That a third seated officer could follow simple instructions."

Kira groaned inwardly in frustration and slid the shoji screen shut behind him. "You'll find that he listens to me more than he does to you."

Hisagi's eyes narrowed dangerously at Kira's insolent words but he let it slide when the blond lowered his gaze.

"What do you want?" Kira asked. He was exhausted, almost dizzy with fatigue, but he had known Hisagi long enough to know the brunet wouldn't leave until he finished whatever it was he was here to do. It was a trait he had always respected, even now when it bordered on infuriating being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We need to talk," Hisagi said and stepped closer, hands reaching for Kira to pull him farther into the room. The blond instantly took a step back and Hisagi went still, letting his hands drop. "You're mad," he said, and it wasn't a question but Kira answered it with a shake of his head.

"I'm not," he whispered tiredly. "It's just…" _I don't want to talk, I have nothing to say that you want to hear. _The thoughts ran through his mind suddenly and caught him by surprise. _Kami-sama, what have I gotten myself into? _He crossed his arms over his chest to hide a shiver.

"Do we have to talk now?" He asked finally, turning plaintive blue eyes that spoke of exhaustion and a very obvious desire to do this neither here nor now on his friend.

Hisagi looked at him, at how he looked like he was going to topple over and fall asleep any moment, and sighed. If it were anybody else he wouldn't be here right now. He was tired--exhausted--and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under the sheets and sleep. But Kira…Kira Izuru was like sand and could slip from your fingers quickly if you let him. Hisagi knew he wouldn't be able to find another opportunity to do this. It was now or never.

He hoped he was doing the right thing.

"Yes, now," Hisagi said decidedly and Kira resigned himself to a very long night.

There was a pot of Kira's favourite tea waiting for them in the kitchen and the blond accepted the cup Hisagi offered him without a word. Kira lifted his cup but only to press its warmth against his cheek. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. For an eerie moment the dull gray of the tiny ceramic cup seemed to drain all the colour from the blond's face, turning his skin a deathly white. It was an unnerving sight.

Hisagi cleared his throat. "You look terrible," the brunet observed out loud and Kira opened his eyes and gave a wry smile.

"Thank you," he said. "I try." Then he bit his bottom lip—a habit of his whenever he was nervous—and took a few steps back from Hisagi, hauling himself up to sit on the kitchen counter. The older shinigami moved in and hovered over him, so closely that if he leaned in just a little bit he'd be touching Kira's knees. He inwardly objected to the proximity but kept his mouth shut, sipping his tea to distract himself.

Hisagi could feel his friend's disquiet mounting as he watched him in silence, his dark eyes staring at his friend's fingers where they were curled elegantly around the teacup, cradling the fragile object loosely. Despite himself the sight of it soothed him somehow. The prolonged silence did nothing for Kira's fraying nerves, however, and the younger shinigami swallowed thickly before speaking.

"You said we needed to talk?" he said and Hisagi started as if jostled out of some reverie.

The brunet nodded. "Show me your wound."

"Hisagi-san—"

"Now," he said a little too loudly, causing the blond to bristle in response to the command as annoyance overcame unease. Despite his near obsessive nature for executing given orders perfectly Kira Izuru hated being told what to do. Blue eyes glared at him in defiance and Hisagi shook his head, hands coming up to rest on his friend's knees. "Please," he said softly.

Kira relaxed though his eyes still held a spark of irritation as he set his cup of tea down on the counter and slipped out of the top half of his shihakushou to reveal his torso. Someone, probably Kira himself, removed the bandage Hisagi had placed over the wound and it had bled a little more, the blood drying into a reddish-brown crust on the blond's skin.

"Stubborn brat," Hisagi muttered, annoyed that the blond hadn't gotten himself patched up like he had told him to.

"It doesn't hurt," Kira said then he hissed when Hisagi suddenly poked the inflamed skin around the jagged cut. "Much," he amended when the brunet looked at him archly.

"_What_ am I gonna do with you?" Hisagi sighed, tracing the wound gently with a finger.

It was such an intimate gesture; Kira felt something flutter inside of him. The thought of the kiss they shared earlier and the subsequent rejection came unbidden to his mind and he tried to push it away in vain. "You don't have to do anything," he said softly. "I can take care of myself."

He thought he felt Hisagi's hands stiffen where they were still on his knees but the brunet's face showed no reaction though he was careful not to meet Kira's eye. "Hold still," he said and Kira leaned back against the kitchen wall as the older shinigami held his hands open over the wound. Hisagi's brows furrowed together as he concentrated, and a faint green light started to radiate from his palms.

Kira felt the sting of the wound knitting itself and he hissed as pain sparked from the injury. "You're not very good at this," he said, wincing. The pain was too great from such a small wound—it was healing too fast. He squirmed from the discomfort.

"No, I'm not," Hisagi agreed by way of apology. The brunet's frown deepened around the edges. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but it was always hard to tell with the 9th Division Vice-Captain. They both knew they were stalling. Kira was well aware that the older shinigami didn't wait for him just to patch him up just as Hisagi knew his friend could see past his ruse.

_Do it_, the brunet told himself. _Let the axe fall_. He drew his hands back and leaned in, inspecting the wound and shaking his head. "Shit. This is gonna scar."

"Let it," the blond said, slipping back into his uniform. _Proof that Hisagi Shuuhei isn't perfect_, he thought absent-mindedly.

Hisagi nodded and moved away and Kira closed his eyes, feeling a part of him follow the older shinigami though his body didn't move an inch. His unease returned and all of a sudden he couldn't take it anymore, this dancing around feelings and arguments and friction they liked to pretend weren't there. His eyes snapped open and he grabbed Hisagi's wrist just before he was out of reach.

"Are you angry with me?" He asked suddenly. Hisagi was clearly surprised that Kira had taken the initiative to start talking as he didn't answer right away. "I'm sorry about earlier," the blond continued. "I was out of line and I acted without thinking. I don't know what came over me." Scattered thoughts struggled to piece themselves together and stumbled over themselves in a rush to get out. "I...I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

Shame ate at him from the inside and he hung his head. Hisagi frowned at the sight he had seen too many times and he stepped in closer to the blond, tilting his face up with two fingers under his chin. "I didn't exactly stop you right away, did I?"

The blond's face went red. "Even so..." He started to say something then seemed to change his mind. He turned his head away enough so that Hisagi could only see his profile through his hair. "Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive."

Kira looked back at him and the brunet met his gaze straight on. They were standing so close together; Hisagi could see the silvery-specks in Kira's blue eyes. The blond's shoulders relaxed and he started to smile that slow, easy smile that had always made Hisagi think of warm sheets and morning sunlight. He hated himself for having to wipe it away.

"But that's not why I'm here," he said slowly. Hisagi took a deep breath to steel himself, and finally let the axe fall. "Kira...I don't think we should be working together anymore."

Kira blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean training, assignments—you _know_ what I mean."

The blond frowned. "I don't know if you've noticed but we don't exactly volunteer to do anything together."

"Then maybe we should make it a point not to. We can always ask to be reassigned or send in a replacement. I've done it before; people do it all the time."

"Send in a..." Kira looked stunned then he hung his head and stared at the floor. "It was just a kiss, Shuuhei," he whispered. "I...that's a bit much..."

His first name on Kira's lips sent a near-overwhelming wave of sadness through the older shinigami and he cupped the blond's cheek before he could stop himself. "Don't think about that anymore," he said gently. "That's not what this is about."

The younger shinigami swallowed and turned his head, blue eyes darting almost imperceptibly from one point to another. Reassigned...replacements...the words echoed in his mind.

"Why?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. He looked at his friend with wide eyes. He didn't understand.

"Think about it. What do you think it looks like: two lieutenants whose Captains have betrayed Soul Society being in close proximity of each other? It looks—"

"Pathetic?"

Hisagi shook his head in frustration. "I was going to say suspicious!"

"Of course."

"Kira, be reasonable. They've had us running around in circles dealing with minor Hollow incidents, I don't doubt for a second that they've got people watching us, and we're the last ones to know about _anything _now. They don't trust us anymore!"

"You mean _you_ don't trust _me_ anymore." Kira glared at Hisagi, his eyes little more than slits when the implication finally set in.

Hisagi didn't say anything and Kira's face darkened. He slid off the counter and pushed past the brunet, laughing mirthlessly.

"I should have known," he said softly. "In the end you're just like everybody else." He turned around and looked Hisagi in the eye. The brunet was taken aback by the turmoil of emotions he could see in them.

"I don't know how to prove my innocence," Kira began. "I don't know why they didn't lock me up. I can't make you believe me and I'm not even going to try. It's my..." He faltered for a moment then took a deep breath. "It's my fault that we never talked about it but...it doesn't make a difference now. If that's what you want, if that's what you think is right, then I respect your decision. We shouldn't work together anymore. I don't need you, Hisagi Shuuhei."

His voice was hard in a way Hisagi hadn't heard in a very long time, meant to sting with venom and vitriol. Yet the hopelessness in it was unmistakable, and that was what hurt Hisagi the most.

"Don't say that," he said, but it only seemed to make Kira angrier.

"I don't know what else to say," the blond said tersely. "What is it you want to hear exactly?"

"Damn it, Kira!" Hisagi shouted, losing his temper. "It's not like that! I _don't_ want to do this!" He grabbed the blond by the arm.

Kira felt something inside him snap.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" he yelled and the brunet let go of him as if the touch of his skin alone burned. As if he was something foul and unclean. "You selfish bastard," he grit out, trying to ignore the burn of tears welling up behind his eyes. "That's what you're so worried about: what everybody else thinks of you!"

Hisagi eyes widened before his hands balled into fists at his sides. His eyes grew dark. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked dangerously_. Reiatsu_ radiated off him coldly and Kira cringed but he wouldn't back down.

"What are you so afraid of?!"

Hisagi had his hands on Kira's shoulders in an instant and the blond froze when he tightened his grip. "I'm not afraid," the brunet hissed. "I am _not_ afraid, and this isn't about me!"

He shook Kira roughly, catching the blond off his guard and effectively stopping him from saying whatever he was going to say next. Desperation clawed at him from the inside as he felt his resolve crumble. He had to make Kira understand! "This hasn't been easy for me," he said. His every instinct, every fibre of his being, screamed at him to back down before he lost control but he couldn't stop.

"I know, Kira," he said, looking into the blond's eyes. "I know about you and Ichimaru."

Kira went very still, his eyes wide in disbelief. The silence was deafening for a long moment, uncomfortable and nearly excruciating. Sickening. Kira's mind reeled and his stomach churned. He had to fight down the urge to vomit.

Then the shock gave way to anger and when he spoke, his voice was so soft Hisagi almost missed it.

"Everyoneknows," he hissed and the brunet let him go. "_Everyone _knows about me and Gin but that's not the _fucking_ point!"

He was furious. _This_ was what it was about? He wanted to hit Hisagi, wanted to lash out at him somehow so the brunet could feel just a fraction of the pain Kira had to live with just from the memories, the nightmares--the _guilt_. None of them knew what it was like, what he was going through.

Hsiagi stared at him with wide eyes but Kira didn't care. He felt himself start to shake and he closed his eyes. They didn't know. How could they know? He couldn't tell them. They wouldn't understand. They didn't even trust him anymore. They all thought he still yearned for Gin.

He couldn't go back to how things normally were, couldn't pick up the pieces—there were just too many. It wasn't fair—"This hasn't been easy for me either!" Rage and despair rolled off Kira in waves, like a river that had been dammed for too long. This was weeks—no, _months_—in the making. Spots started to dance before his eyes as blackness started to close in from the edges of his vision. He didn't realize he had been shouting until Hisagi had his arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly as if trying to hold him together at the seams.

"Shh..." Hisagi whispered gently. The brunet's breath rustled the blond's fringe and Kira shivered and choked on his angry words, closing his eyes tightly and clinging to the older shinigami as if for his life. He fought for calm, breathing in huge gulps of air to stop himself from screaming as Hisagi soothed him, rubbing circles over his back.

"He has nothing to do with this," Kira lied shakily, and Hisagi only nodded. He didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm sorry," he said instead. "I shouldn't have said that; I had no right." Then he shook his head in frustration and held the blond tighter. "Fuck, you're right. That has nothing to do with this. I'm so sorry."

Kira hands clenched into fists on Hisagi's chest and he trembled in his arms from the effort of reigning in his anger and fighting back the tears. _This_, Hisagi told himself as he held his friend to him, _is what it feels like to care for someone so much that you feel their pain as if it were your own. _

He suddenly had the vivid recollection of the Kira Izuru from his days in the Spiritual Academy—so different from the one he was holding right now.

_I can't do this_, he thought._ I don't want to do this._

"Kira, please," he begged, trying desperately to find purchase in the emotional landslide he had started. He loosened his hold on the blond and held him at arm's length. "You have to understand. I trust you with my life but this is the last thing you need right now."

He said it softly, as if it would hurt Kira less if he did, and let the words hang in the air. The blond blinked slowly once, then twice, before meeting his gaze. His eyes were bright.

Kira thought of all the times he and Hisagi had worked together, even after their Captains' betrayals. It was true, they _had_ been dealing with minor hollow incidents, they _were_ the last to know anything now. But Hisagi had mentioned Gin. Was he ashamed to be seen with Kira knowing that? Had Hisagi been feeling this way from the start?

_Is it really all my fault?_

Hisagi watched the changes in Kira's eyes as the thoughts raced through his head and he went from one emotion to the next. Anger. Sadness. Guilt. And then...nothing.

"You should go," Kira said finally and Hisagi felt a part of himself shatter into countless pieces inside him.

_No. Not like this._ "Kira," he said softly. Then even softer "Izuru".

The blond shook his head adamantly. "You have to go. I just...I can't—" he pursed his lips together as if to keep the words from spilling out.

Hisagi was on him in a heartbeat. Cupping the blond's cheek in his hand he kissed him chastely on his lips, a kiss that meant both nothing and everything at the same time, saturated with emotions and truths they couldn't say out loud as trust and friendship and maybe something even more were laid to ruins around them.

Kira pulled away. "Please go," he said. His voice was strained.

Hisagi let him go. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? He wanted them to be safe from suspicion. He wanted for them to be trusted again. He wanted this—_needed_ this. So why was it so hard? Why did it feel so wrong? He opened his mouth to speak again but the blond cut him off.

"I'll be fine, Shuuhei," Kira said quietly. "I understand now. But I want you to go. Please." The words were said with unmistakable finality as the blond turned away and refused to meet the older shinigami's eye.

_Leave_, Hisagi's mind told him. _Leave now or you never will!_

"Take care of yourself," he whispered finally. Kira nodded and gave him a short bow.

He didn't wait for him to look up again before he turned away and slipped out the door, switching to shunpo as soon as he was out the threshold. He didn't see Kira stare blankly at the open doorway with eyes that held no emotion, didn't see the blond slowly lower himself to the floor on his knees before closing his eyes.

What he did see was the brightness of the sunrise on the horizon, a silent explosion of colours in a clear sky that blurred into mottled orange and yellow as he sped for home, its warmth unfelt as his senses registered Kira's _reiatsu _spike, felt its anguish hanging in the air, before it gave out like a flame lost to the wind.

Somewhere behind him Hisagi felt a heart break.

"I'm sorry, Izuru," he said through clenched teeth and picked up his pace.

He felt like he couldn't run fast enough.

**TBC**

**

* * *

A/N: **Forgive the angst-fest, but these boys do it so well, no? I really hope you guys like how this is coming along so far. I think this is the fic I am spending the most time on and trying my hardest just to finish. I tried my best to keep the conversation realistic and tone down the drama at the same time. I'm not sure how that went but I like it well enough. I hope you do, too!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Static

**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei x Kira Izuru

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** Yaoi.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**A/N:** Thank you again, guys, for the reviews in the last two chapters and for adding this story to your fave's and/or story alerts list. This chapter takes place about a month after the last one. This chapter was a birthday present for two of my favourite people in Livejourna: Zuzu and Ann.

**Summary:** Post-SS arc. Betrayal is a blade that cuts deeply, and you have to wonder who you can really trust.

**In this chapter:** Pride does not pay.

* * *

Bathed in the artificial glow of the large, now blank computer screen, Akon replayed the seemingly nonsensical flickers of lights and colours in his head and frowned. Smoke from his cigarette snaked around him and the floor around his feet is littered with ash. For the first time in a very long time the Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was confused.

"Play that for me again," he said. The tech pushed a button on his work station and the screen displayed a transmitted image of the outskirts of Karakura town. It was immediately alive with lights, colours, numbers, letters, shapes—the works: orange triangles for the humans, and red for the Hollows. There were a few green circles scattered throughout the screen, representing the shinigami assigned to patrol the area. Akon watched as they winked out, consumed by a wave of red triangles.

More green circles appeared on the edges of the screen, but they didn't last long as the red triangles quickly multiplied until Akon's own white lab coat reflected a dull red glow. Then, right when Akon knew they would, the red triangles winked out all at once and there was nothing on the screen but thermal readings of the terrain. No green circles, no orange triangles.

He took a long puff from his cigarette, and his tech looked at him grimly.

"We've got a situation."

* * *

"Kira-fukutaichou?"

Kira blinked and looked up from the latest request for approval for replacement written in Hisagi's sprawling script. It wasn't so much a request as it was notice of yet another assignment the brunet would be sending in a replacement for. Realizing he was holding it too tightly, he set it back down on the table and smoothed his palms over the now crumpled sheet.

He should be used to this by now. The necessary paperwork was delivered regularly by unseated 9th Division members who shifted their weight from one foot to the other as they handed over the documents with their eyes glued to the floor. Sometimes they arrived before Kira even knew they had been assigned on a mission together. Replacements. Reassignments. He'd known it would turn out like this, and he had expected it. What he didn't expect, however, was how much it affected him.

"Your Lieutenant is a busy man," he said conversationally to the unseated shinigami who brought in the documents.

"Aa," the shinigami responded nervously. "He oversees all of our training exercises and sparring sessions himself now. He still insists on doing the bulk of the paperwork as well. It is hard for him, being the only one in command." Then he gasped and started stammering. "B-but you understand, Kira-fukutaichou." He bowed, as if in apology, but Kira waved it off.

Grabbing his brush, he quickly affixed his signature on the documents and handed the necessary copies to the shinigami on the other side of his desk. "Did he say who he wanted to send in his place?"

"Fukutaichou thought it would be best to leave it up to you, sir," the young shinigami said and Kira fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Of course he did," he sighed and then frowned. He turned his gaze to the lopsided stack of documents that all said the same thing, at least a month's worth of Kira's disgrace. Sighing again, he nodded at the young shinigami still in front of him. "Try not to give your Lieutenant too much trouble, all right?" he said with a smile, and the shinigami blushed and stammered a "Yes, sir" before giving him a swift bow and backing out of his office.

Kira waited a few seconds before he sat back on his chair and groaned.

"Long day?" a familiar voice asked and Kira looked up to see Rangiku leaning casually against the doorframe, a hand on her hip. She was smiling and the sight of it alleviated his bad mood somewhat.

"When is it not?" he asked, giving her a rueful smile. "Come in." He gestured to the couch and excused himself for a few minutes to make some tea. When he came back, Rangiku was halfway through with a bottle of sake. "I should have known," he laughed and she winked at him. "What can I do for you, Matsumoto-san?"

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Hinamori and Isane are in the office, and if I have to listen to them nag me about keeping it tidier I'm going to scream. Those two are even worse than my Captain is." She rolled her eyes.

"You just wanted a drinking partner," he teased, retrieving his own bottle of sake and two cups from one of his cabinets.

"That, too." She grinned, pouring some for him. They shared a toast and proceeded to drink in comfortable silence. At least until Rangiku caught sight of the documents on Kira's desk. "Please tell me you two aren't still at it," she groaned, and before Kira could stop her she was up and rummaging through his desk.

"Wait, Matsumoto-san, don't—" He tried to protest but it was no use. Rangiku held the documents at arm's length with one hand and pushed the blond back by his face with the other. Her heart sank when she saw Kira's signature already at the bottom of the sheet. "You're just as bad as he is, you know that?" she said, shaking her head, and Kira had the grace to look embarrassed. And miserable.

"It's...complicated, Matsumoto-san. I told you." He had—many times—but she wouldn't have it.

_What's complicated is the two of you making things even worse_, she wanted to say but she checked the impulse. Kira and Hisagi were two of the most stubborn men she had ever come across, and she came across a lot of those. She sighed and dropped the documents back on the blond's desk. "And men are considered the superior gender, _why_?"

The 3rd Division Lieutenant made a face. "Don't start, Matsumoto-san. Don't turn this into an argument of the sexes. You know I'll just lose." He smiled a smile that reached his blue eyes, and she laughed, forcing her disappointment and sadness for her friends and comrades to the back of her mind. _The last thing I need is even more stress_, she told herself as she followed her friend back to the couch and the sake. _But I'm talking to Shuuhei tomorrow_, she decided. She still didn't know the details; neither of the two thick-headed lieutenants would tell her, which only made her believe that whatever had caused the rift between her two friends was either something very, very big or the exact opposite of that (something very, very stupid). She reached for her cup and brought it to her lips. Beside her, Kira did the same and she turned to look at him only to have him not meet her eyes. She suppressed the urge to roll hers.

_Someone has to talk some sense into these two_, she thought. Behind them, there was the faint rustle of sheets of paper being disturbed by a breeze, and she imagined Hisagi's request for approval for replacement fluttering in the wind. An idea popped into her head.

"Hey, Kira," she said, and the blond looked at her and raised a brow. "About Shuuhei's replacement..."

* * *

"Behind you, Fukutaichou!"

Hisagi ducked and rolled to one side just as the Hollow's claws scored the ground where he was standing only moments ago. He quickly dispatched it, thrusting Kazeshini right into its empty eye socket and through its brain.

One down. God knows how many more to go. Hisagi tightened his grip on his zapakutou.

It never occurred to him that they might lose the battle until there were only three of them left standing. Drastically outnumbered with no reinforcement in sight, he knew they it was only by sheer luck that they were still alive. All around him his men were injured and incapacitated; the ground was slick with their blood. It was terrifying, and despite over a century of training, fear made itself known in the back of his mind.

"Damn it," he cursed when a Hollow's talons whizzed past his ear, missing his head by a hair's breadth. Surging forward, he lashed out with Kazeshini, slicing the monster through its throat without waiting to see its head fall before he was on the next one, plunging his zanpakutou into its chest.

A sharp cry—his fourth seat's—followed by a ferocious roar sounded from behind him and he twisted around to come face to face with another Hollow, so close he could feel its acrid breath on his skin. Something inside him tightened at the sight, and he shuddered before he dropped to a crouch, narrowly avoiding a swing that would have lopped his head clean off. He lunged forward and delivered a clean slice from belly to chin, carving the Hollow in half.

Just two of them now. They were goners.

Another Hollow suddenly materialized in front of him and reared back, talons raised for the final blow.

"Bloom, Fujikujaku!"

Hisagi leapt backwards and shielded his eyes as blood sprayed from the gaping wound that appeared on the monster's chest. Ayasegawa Yumichika landed in a crouch not two feet away from him.

"Still alive back there, Hisagi?" The 11th Division 5th Seat called. He was covered in blood and Hisagi didn't doubt for one second that none of it was his.

"Ayasegawa, you—"

"Later!" Yumichika was one his feet again, slaughtering one Hollow after the other. A dozen more shinigami entered the fray and the 9th Division Lieutenant joined in, unleashing a flurry of wild cuts and slashes. On the verge of victory, he intensified his attack, sending waves of kidou after every thrust of his zanpakutou until finally silence reigned, disturbed only by the pained groans of the wounded.

"God damn it, Yumi!" Hisagi bellowed, not bothering to sheath Kazeshini as he turned towards the few still left standing. He was furious and the indifferent stare the shorter shinigami gave him only made him angrier. "What the fuck was that?!"

Yumichika raised a feathered eyebrow. "That was called saving your ass, Hisagi. Is there a problem?" He stood at his full height with arms akimbo as he glared at the 9th Division Lieutenant.

"You were supposed to outflank them from the left! The Hollows surrounded us; we were sitting ducks out there!"

Yumi's eyes flashed. "You gave your own position away when you attacked first thing that moved. There was no way we could have gotten there in time. You should have waited until we were in position."

"You didn't get there fast enough," Hisagi said through clenched teeth, refusing to back down. He glowered at the shorter brunet. "You had your orders; you have no excuse, and now my men are—"

The rest of his sentence was cut off when Yumi's arm shot out and grabbed a fistful of his uniform.

"Fukutaichou!" He heard his men rush to his aid and threw out an arm to stop them. His eyes never left Yumichika's.

"I followed my orders," the older shinigami hissed dangerously. "Word for word, so don't you dare talk to me like that. I've been in this business since longer than you've been alive." He pushed Hisagi away and jabbed a finger in the vice-captain's chest. "You changed tactics in the middle of the game and things like that can get people killed. You're lucky no one died so get off my back, Hisagi."

Hisagi felt himself bristle but before he could form a retort Yumichika turned and walked away. Their men scattered as they scrambled to clear a path for the 11th Division 5th seat and Hisagi decided to be the better man and let him go.

"Get the men in order; we're moving out," he told his third seat. "Open the senkai and get everybody through. Priority goes to the wounded."

"Yes, sir!" The man hurried to carry out his orders and a few moments later the glowing gate materialized and slid open to admit them. The men from the 11th division were already neatly assembled and waiting (only Yumichika could get them to do that), and one by one they all walked into the portal. Hisagi and Yumichika were the last to leave, and they stepped into the Severed World resolutely ignoring each other. Or at least Hisagi thought so.

"A word," Yumichika said suddenly, stepping up closer to Hisagi. "Is it heavy?" He asked.

"Is _what_ heavy?" Hisagi snapped.

"All that pride."

Hisagi turned his head sharply to glare at Yumichika and wasn't at all surprised to find that he was smirking. Yumichika kept talking. "I understand that the word 'apology' has no place in your vocabulary," he said. "But I know you know what happened back there was your fault."

Hisagi opened his mouth to speak and put a stop to Yumichika's insolence but the older shinigami beat him to it. "It's hard, isn't it—working with someone new?" Without waiting for an answer, the shorter brunet shook his head and chuckled knowingly. "It's even harder when you're so used to working with someone else." Yumichika fixed him with a steady gaze but Hisagi said nothing. "I can't read you," he continued. "And you can't read me. You jump into the fray and I have to figure out what you're doing. You wonder where I am when I'm right where I'm supposed to be and—"

"Yumi, don't," Hisagi said all of a sudden, effectively stopping Yumichika from whatever he was going to say next. "I'm sorry, all right? It was my fault; I'll wait next time. I guess I just got carried away." He hated to own up to his mistakes and admit defeat, but he had an idea where Yumi was going with this and, frankly, he didn't want to hear it. "And I won't yell at you or anything. Ever." He promised because he knew that out of the many, many things Yumichika couldn't stand about life in general, being scolded or yelled at ranked pretty high on that list.

He looked at Yumi and tried not to pout and seem like the child Yumi was always saying he was. The shorter brunet smirked. Apology accepted.

They were at the end of the Severed World now and they could see the silhouettes of their men gathered on the other side of the portal, waiting for them. Yumi stopped in his tracks and turned to Hisagi, and the taller brunet instantly knew he wasn't going to like what Yumi was going to say.

"It's none of my business," Yumi started and Hisagi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from agreeing out loud. "But whatever is going on with you and Kira has got to stop."

Hisagi grit his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. Don't think I don't know why we've been working together so much lately." Yumi's blue-violet eyes took on a hard glint. "Don't compromise your duties over personal matters, Hisagi. That's never the way to go, and if you insist on doing just that then I don't want to be a part of it." The shorter brunet turned and headed for the portal before Hisagi could say anything. He stopped and looked back at the younger shinigami halfway through the threshold. "Don't ask for me again," he said and then he was gone.

Utterly speechless, Hisagi glared at the older shinigami's silhouette, clenching his fists in an effort to reign in his anger even as his cheeks burned with humiliation. _You don't know shit_, he wanted to yell at his friend but decided against it. _Don't give Yumi any more reason to think you a fool._

He gave himself a few seconds to compose himself before crossing the rift. To his relief, the men from the 11th Division were already gone and only a handful of his own men were waiting for him.

"We've sent the wounded to the 4th Division, sir," his third seat reported and Hisagi was glad for the man's good sense.

"Get to your homes, all of you. We'll work on those reports tomorrow," he told his men and they were only too happy to comply, flash-stepping away with hasty farewells and barely a second glance at their lieutenant. Hisagi waited until all of them were gone before going against his own words and speeding for his office.

What he found on his desk surprised him.

"Son of a bitch," he cursed and grabbed the files from his desk, wishing he could throw the damned thing into the trash. It had been more than a month now, but he and Kira were still being assigned together despite the two of them making an effort to stay apart. It was frustrating. Hisagi had always thought himself a patient man but it was starting to grate on his nerves. How long would it take for the higher-ups to take a hint? He was doing the right thing, wasn't he?

_And Kira..._ No. Hisagi pushed any thought of the blond out of his mind, and reasonably began to believe that what you wanted to happen was the last thing that was going to happen. Poking his head out of his office door, he called to the first shinigami he saw. "Satsuya," he called, and his 5th seat came hurrying over.

"Hisagi-fukutaichou," the man greeted and gave him a swift bow.

Hisagi nodded in return. "Where's Touru? He was supposed to bring my request for approval of replacement forms to the 3rd Division this morning." He waved the file in the air and Satsuya blinked.

"He did, sir. I put the copies with Kira-fukutaichou's signatures on your desk myself."

Hisagi looked around his desk and found the aforementioned documents, ignoring the pang he felt when he thought about how quickly they had been signed and returned. He stared at the one he had in his hand in confusion.

"Those just came in, sir." His 5th seat answered his unspoken question, nodding to the file the brunet held. "About two hours ago, from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute."

Frowning and shaking his head, he opened the file. It was the mission briefing for his and Kira's current assignment, the one he was sending in a replacement for; some additional operational conditions and more specific instructions. He skimmed through it quickly and was about to set it aside when something caught his eye.

Anomalous readings. Human casualties. Missing Shinigami.

Hisagi frowned. When did _that_ happen? The assignment was supposed to be a simple strategic reconnaissance mission. He read through the rest of the documents, the furrow between his brows becoming more and more pronounced. From across his desk, Satsuya eyed the Lieutenant warily. A confused Hisagi Shuuhei was never a good sign. "Would you like me to send a message to Kira-fukutaichou, sir?"

Hisagi shook his head and walked around his desk. "No, I've got this," he said, starting to leave his office with the files in hand. "As you were," he said to his 5th seat and then walked out into the hall. He stopped when he heard Satsuya call out to him.

"Hisagi-fukutaichou!"

"What is it?"

Satsuya was looking at him oddly. "Are you sure you should...I would gladly go to Kira-fukutaichou or even a Hell Butterfly—"

Hisagi cut him off with a sharp gesture. "This can't wait, Satsuya," he said then he gave the other shinigami a reassuring grin. "Don't worry. I can handle him." Without waiting for a response, he was out the door and flash-stepping in the direction of Kira's office.

* * *

Kira was sitting behind his desk, compiling reports, when he sensed the 9th Division Vice-Captain approaching. Hisagi didn't even stop at the door, just barged in, kicked it shut behind him, and asked, "Have you read the latest mission briefing?"

The blond nodded without looking up from his work. He was stunned, and immediately on edge. What was Hisagi doing here? This was the first time in months that the older shinigami had come to his office himself, the first time he had actually spoken to Kira since they had agreed to stop working together. His presence was like an intrusion, and one that cut deep into Kira's core. He couldn't help but feel defensive as his hackles rose in response to the other's presence.

"As soon as it arrived," he said in a carefully clipped tone, arranging the files according to date and placed them in a neat stack to one side of his desk for his 3rd seat to send to the 1st Division come morning. Then he pulled another handful of documents from the shelves behind him and started to arrange them in the same fashion. All this he did without looking at the brunet across his desk.

If it made Hisagi want to kill something, he didn't let on. Instead, he grabbed a chair and sat down, tossing the file he had brought onto the blond's desk. It opened to the page that had caught the brunet's attention earlier and the grim descriptions glared up at the two of them almost accusatorily. "And?" Hisagi asked.

Kira arched a brow and pulled the file to him, scanning the first page before finally looking at Hisagi. His face was blank and his voice, carefully neutral, as he said: "And what?"

The brunet frowned. "It's a level 5 assignment. Direct action: search and destroy." He shook his head. "I don't suppose that concerns you."

"It's nothing I haven't done before."

"Who did you ask for as my replacement?" Hisagi asked quickly, abruptly changing topics and Kira mind reeled to keep up.

"Matsumoto-san," he answered then shook his head sharply. "Hisagi-san, I don't know what you're getting at but it's getting late and I have work to do—"

"I rescind my request to send in a replacement," the brunet said suddenly. "I'm going with you."

Kira didn't miss a beat. "No," he said darkly. "You're not." He slammed the now chronologically arranged set of files on top of the previous one and stood up. "What's gotten into you?" He snapped, placing his hands on his hips. He looked at the brunet reproachfully.

Hisagi matched his glare and leapt to his feet, pointing at the file. "_This_ is what's gotten into me." Anomalous readings, human casualties, missing shinigami who were probably all dead. "Has Rangiku-san even read it yet?"

"I sent her my copy as soon as I was done with it. She should have finished it by now; she's more responsible than anyone gives her credit for. You know that." Kira tilted his head to one side and frowned as a thought came into mind. "But if you're worried about her I can try to find someone else. It won't be easy, though; she volunteered."

"God damn it, Kira, I'm not worried about her. I worried about you!" Hisagi said and it wasn't until the echo of his own voice died down that he realized he had yelled. He glared at the blond, as if it was Kira's fault. "I rescind my request to send a replacement," he repeated calmly. He let the words hang in the air.

The younger shinigami pursed his lips and didn't speak right away. When he finally did, Hisagi knew he had lost. "You can't rescind something you've already signed," Kira said quietly. "And I've already sent the forms to the 1st Division. I'm sorry," he said in a voice that didn't sound sorry at all. "You're not coming with me."

Hisagi threw his hands up in the air. "There's no getting through to you, is there?"

"Well, you look like you could use a break."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked, and Kira looked at him pointedly. Then Hisagi remembered that he had come barging in here straight after his previous assignment. He looked down at himself and saw that his shihakushou was tattered, stained, and reeking of Hollow blood. Suddenly Satsuya trying to stop him from coming here made sense and he blushed in spite of himself. "Routine patrol with minor setbacks," he said simply. "No big deal. Unlike that," he nodded toward the file still on Kira's table.

The blond rubbed his hands over his face and groaned tiredly. He fought for control. "I'll be fine, Shuuhei, but I appreciate your concern." Then he lowered his hands and looked at the older shinigami. "Don't worry about me."

_Like I could_, Hisagi thought. Then he smirked as Yumichika's words from earlier came to mind. "Is it heavy?" He asked.

Kira looked confused. "Is what heavy?"

"All that pride."

The blond's jaw dropped and his face flushed before he regained his composure. His eyes darkened abruptly. Every muscle in his body seemed to tighten. "Need I remind you that all this was your idea?" He asked coldly, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop along with the bottom of the brunet's stomach. Silence hung thickly between them until Hisagi swallowed and softly said: "It won't be long now." He looked into Kira's eyes and willed him to understand. "You'll see."

The blond was taken aback by the gentleness in the older shinigami's voice and it suddenly made him even angrier. Trust Hisagi to make him feel like this was all his fault. "I wasn't aware that this arrangement was temporary," he said harshly.

Hisagi bridled in response to Kira's hostility. "So it's like that now?" He snapped before he could stop himself. He felt his pulse rising, his face heating up. This is why he hated arguing with Kira. He always lost. "Forget I said anything," he said. _This is going nowhere,_ he thought to himself. _Stay calm, stay calm. He's just being defensive. __**You**__ hurt __**him**__, remember?_

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. This wasn't supposed to be a fight. They didn't work together, yes. They didn't talk to each other or even look at each other. But this wasn't supposed to be a fight; they weren't supposed to hate each other. _Fuck, what have I done? When did it get this bad?_

"Do what you like, Kira," He said finally, defeated. "I didn't come here to pick a fight." He turned and started for the door, wounded pride in tow. Anger and concern churned inside him, taking turns in coming to the fore. Part of him wanted to shout at Kira for being such an obstinate brat while another knew it was his fault. A level five assignment was serious; the two of them only ever carried them out together, and he wasn't comfortable with the idea that they weren't going to now—especially for reasons such as theirs.

"Then why _did_ you come here?" Kira asked just as Hisagi's fingers closed around the doorknob. The brunet turned around.

"I came here because you're running straight into a dangerous mission with barely any intel to see you through, and I don't like it. Not if you're going without me."

The blond visibly relaxed at his softened tone and Hisagi thought he saw a flicker of self-reproach in Kira's blue eyes. But Kira's resolve had always been made of steel and that wasn't going to change any time soon, least of all now. "I'm not a child that needs looking after, Shuu," he said. "Matsumoto-san and I can handle this. Trust me."

"I do."

Kira ducked his head at that. He opened his mouth to say something but then seemed to hesitate, as though reconsidering his words. Finally he nodded to himself before looking at Hisagi again. "If that will be all, Hisagi-fukutaichou." He gave the brunet a short bow then gestured to the door with his eyes. There was no trace of anger in his voice. Just a profound sense of finality that was infinitely worse.

Hisagi knew a dismissal when he saw one. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that's it." He turned and twisted the knob in his hand, the click of the door opening all but deafening to his ears. _You've made your bed_, Hisagi told himself. _Now lie in it._ He shook his head and pushed past the door quickly, slamming it shut much too loudly in his wake. Then he paused outside the door for a second...two seconds...three...before storming down the hall and savagely crushing the hope that his friend would call him back.

_Friend._ Kira was still one of those...right?

* * *

Kira listened to his footsteps fade into silence and sank back into his chair with an exasperated sigh. Guilt and regret gnawed at him. He was angry, yes—he was still hurting after all—and talking to the older shinigami only reminded how much. He recalled the fleeting sense of satisfaction he had felt when he dismissed Hisagi, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The truth was he hadn't wanted to talk to Hisagi the way he did. He didn't want to be angry—things were bad enough between them—but it was all he could do: refuse the offer, the blatant admission of concern, no matter how much he wanted to believe them—or rather accept them, because he did believe them and that only made it everything harder.

_He still cares about me_, he thought and then wondered why it surprised him when he had never doubted it, not even for an instant, despite what had happened between them. And yet it wasn't enough. Kira couldn't just forgive and forget; not at the expense of his self-respect. Hisagi only wanted to work with him for this particular assignment to...what? Make sure nothing went wrong? That Kira did it right? And what did he mean when he said it wouldn't be long now? It wouldn't be long until _what_? What exactly was Hisagi waiting for? And if Kira had said yes, if only to this assignment, would things change between them or would Hisagi continue sending in replacements for easier and less dangerous missions?

There were too many questions and no one to answer them, though Hisagi might have tried if he had been given the chance. Kira sighed and pulled the latest mission briefing to him, flipping through its pages absently. For some reason it felt heavier than it did only a few hours ago and Hisagi's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

_Is it heavy? All that pride?_

Kira shook his head. _What do you want from me, Hisagi Shuuhei?_ He mentally asked his friend as the image of the brunet turning his back to him and walking away for a second time replayed in his head.

_When I get back_, he decided, tightening his grip on the file. _We'll talk about this when I get back._

**TBC.**

**

* * *

A/N: **Ah, but I just can't stop making these two miserable...it's just too much fun. 8D I hope you enjoyed it. Am working on the next chapter even as I type this up. Hopefully it will be out soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Static

**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei x Kira Izuru

**Rating:** PG-13 because blood and the slaughter of masked monstrosities are involved.

**Warnings:** Yaoi. Mild violence (poor Hollows)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**Summary:** Post-SS arc. Betrayal is a blade that cuts deeply, and you have to wonder who you can really trust.

**In this chapter:** Things take a turn for the worse.

**A/N:** I'm going to be a dork and admit that I'm still :DDDDD over the fact that it didn't take me six months to cough up this chapter (just two hurr hurr). I'm sorry if there are some parts here that are a little blergh. I seem to have fallen victim to a writer's block from hell, and it's messing with my rhythm, but believe me when I say I am valiantly trying to get past it.

Thank you to those who left such kind and insightful reviews in the previous chapters! I wouldn't have been able to continue writing this without you (making me feel guilty for slacking off) encouraging me! XD

I have also decided to add short recaps of the last chapter for your convenience because at the rate I'm going people are bound to forget what's going on in this fic. XD

If anyone is still reading this you're going to want to throw something at me when this chapter is over. :)

* * *

**In the previous chapter:**

_Is it heavy? All that pride?_

Kira shook his head. _What do you want from me, Hisagi Shuuhei?_ He mentally asked his friend as the image of the brunet turning his back to him and walking away for a second time replayed in his head.

_When I get back,_ he decided, tightening his grip on the file. _We'll talk about this when I get back._

* * *

**Static: Chapter Four**

Peering over the edge of an overhang, Kira Izuru crouched low behind a boulder, shading his eyes against the glare of the sunset as he looked out on the valley below. Directly under his line of vision, three huge hollows milled about aimlessly. Every now and then he could feel their looming reiatsureach out in search of prey but at this distance, and with him keeping his own reiatsuat its minimum level, he knew they wouldn't find him. And so he monitored them, undetected, from afar. He had been doing this for hours.

A hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder, making him start. He calmed back down when Matsumoto Rangiku hunkered down beside him, her ice blue eyes surveying the scene.

"Just three of them now," she observed and Kira hummed.

"They ate the other two."

"Good," Rangiku said though she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That means they haven't found anything else to eat. Anything to report?" she asked and the younger shinigami shook his head. Rangiku nodded and turned to look over her shoulder, motioning for several shinigami to come forward. Kira's shift was over.

"Keep your eyes open," he told the newcomers. "They've been inactive so far but that could change. If they notice you, fall back immediately. Do not engage the targets unless absolutely necessary—they're the only lead we have right now," he said and waited for each shinigami to acknowledge the order before nodding and heading back to base camp.

They had encountered a few hollows mere minutes after entering the transient world, the beasts attracted to the sudden influx of potent reiatsu. They had been dealt with swiftly and efficiently, and base camp and perimeter were set up within the hour. Now they had squadrons patrolling the area in every direction, stalking whatever hollows they came across as they tried to find...to find...

Well, they didn't know what they were looking for exactly but they exerted every effort to find it. Kira's brows drew together in a frown as he walked. The objective of the mission still confused him. They were on the lookout for an incursion of a massive number of hollows that disappeared as soon as they came. Apparently the attacks had suddenly become an almost regular occurrence in the area, resulting in a number of casualties that could no longer be ignored. After the last squad that had been assigned to the area failed to return the assignment had been labelled a high risk mission, and that's where Kira and Rangiku came in. They were supposed to "find out where they came from and how the hell they disappear so fast" as Akon so aptly put it.

But there was nothing here—or at least nothing out of the ordinary—from what both he and Rangiku could tell. Kira's frown deepened as he thought about how strange it was. With the number of hollows Akon estimated, they should have felt their presence by now or at least seen signs of their existence. Yet hours had passed and they still hadn't found anything. He wondered what they were missing.

"Damn it, Kira! You're not listening to me!"

The 3rd Division Lieutenant faltered in his step and almost tripped. It was Rangiku. He had been too preoccupied to notice she had followed him. The older blond looked a little miffed and it occurred to him that she must have been talking to him and he hadn't heard a single word. "Erm...sorry?" he said sheepishly and she rolled her eyes.

"I wonder about you sometimes," she huffed before hooking an arm around his and dragging him away from the direction of base camp. "Come with me," was all she said and he knew better than to pull away. They walked in silence—aimlessly, but making sure to stay within the safety of the perimeter—and with each step the apprehension Kira felt over the mission and its objective slowly faded into the background as anxiety for an entirely different reason took its place. Rangiku did not disappoint.

She stopped and let go of Kira, turning to face him and regard him sternly. "You have to patch things up with him, Kira."

The younger shinigami cringed. He didn't need to ask whom she was referring to.

"This is ridiculous," she continued when he didn't say anything. "Do you two have any idea what you're doing to yourselves? To each other?"

Kira blushed and his jaw tightened. "It was _his_ idea," he said in his defence though sinking that low made him feel a little nauseous. To his chagrin the thought did actually make him feel better; telling himself and whoever bothered to ask that it was Hisagi's idea felt like justification and it did well to alleviate the shame and pain. Sometimes.

Rangiku sighed as she watched the 3rd Division Lieutenant. She never got the chance to talk to Hisagi before leaving for the transient world with Kira and she regretted it. Talking to the younger blond was so much harder; he was stubborn and reclusive, so used to dealing with his own problems—never really solving them, just keeping them to himself and carrying the burden alone. With Hisagi she could beat some sense into him and call it a day. With Kira...it was different somehow. She always felt like she had to watch her step.

"You two have fought before but it's never been this bad," she finally said. "I'm worried about you. Both of you."

Kira faked a smile. "Don't be, Matsumoto-san. We're fine. It's just..." He struggled to find the right word. "An arrangement," he decided. That was what he had called it when he and Hisagi had talked last, right before he had all but kicked the brunet out of his office. "An arrangement that we've agreed will be best for the both of us."

"Bullshit," Rangiku said as soon as the words were out of Kira's mouth. Her eyes blazed and the younger shinigami belatedly remembered that this was the woman who knew him better than most people did. Then the lines on her face softened and she looked at him with concern. "What happened?" she asked softly.

The younger blond ducked his head. "I can't tell you," he answered. _I'd die of shame._

Rangiku shook her head and reached out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Shuuhei may be a jackass sometimes but he cares about you. You know he does."

This time Kira scoffed. "I know exactly how he feels about me, Matsumoto-san," he muttered derisively and Rangiku raised a brow. To his surprise, she was smirking.

"Do you, now?" She asked. "I don't think anyone knows how Shuuhei feels about you. Not even Shuuhei himself." The hand she had on his shoulder gave it a tender squeeze. "He's your friend, Kira—if nothing else."

The younger shinigami blushed in spite of himself and turned away from her knowing look. "I'll talk to him, Matsumoto-san—I promise. I already planned to. I just..." _don't know what to say or where to start_, he thought as he trailed off. He briefly recalled how his last conversation with the 9th Division Lieutenant ended and sighed. "I just can't right now." He gestured to their surroundings. "Obviously." He gently shrugged himself free of Rangiku's hold and turned back to the direction of camp. "It's getting late," he said without looking at her, staring out into the growing darkness instead. "We should head back."

A part of him was afraid she would push the subject and make him talk. With enough prodding, Kira knew he would cave and tell her everything. But Rangiku only made a disappointed noise and pouted at him. "All right," she said, nodding. "We'll head back. But Kira?"

The younger blond turned to look at her and was surprised to see a finger held stiff not three inches from his face.

"You are talking to Shuuhei the minute we get back," Rangiku said sternly and Kira couldn't help but burst into laughter, the rich sound of it echoing throughout the now dark forest.

"You just don't give up, do you?" He asked, still laughing.

"No, I don't." Rangiku grinned then her features softened and she stepped forward to kiss him on his cheek. "And neither should you," she said finally she drew away. Her blue eyes twinkled and Kira smiled.

"Thank you, Matsumoto-san," he said and really meant it. He suddenly felt like a huge weight had been removed from his chest without really knowing why. He hadn't lied when he'd said he was going to talk to Hisagi, but the decision seemed easier to bear knowing he had Rangiku's support. "Where would I be without you?" He said, smiling, and she grinned at him.

"Dead in a ditch at the very least," she answered instantly and they both laughed.

Then moment was shattered by the sudden hiss of static from his comm link followed by a familiar voice.

It was Akon.

* * *

Hisagi woke up with a start, jerking upright and scattering sweat from the sudden motion. _Idiot_, he admonished himself. _Falling asleep in the office. What are you? Unseated?_ He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his neck with the back of his hand.

Edgy. He was edgy—jumpy, jittery, uneasy. _Why?_

Because he was worried about Kira.

He buried his face in his hands and groaned. _He's gonna kill you if he finds out_, a little voice in the back of his mind told him and it was right. Kira hated it when people worried about him, as if he couldn't do his job properly on his own. Hisagi knew perfectly well that Kira could, but you just couldn't help but worry about a friend. He and Kira may not be on very good terms right now but Hisagi would always worry about him, not matter what. Besides, it was his fault they weren't on very good terms in the first place. Half the stress came from his conscience.

The past few nights, beginning right after he had talked to Kira last, had been spent tossing and turning in bed. Thoughts of the blond were driving him to distraction, fuelled by fears that something would go wrong—nightmares of the mission going awry, his friends getting hurt, the look on Kira's face the last time they had talked. He hadn't had a good night's rest in a while and it was taking its toll. Rubbing wearily at his temples, he fervently hoped he could get some sleep tonight, though he highly doubted it.

A sudden knock on the door made him jerk upright and he hurried to answer it, barking out "what?!" as pulled the door open. Iba blinked.

"They don't got hello's where you come from, kid?" The 7th Division lieutenant asked gruffly and Hisagi flushed.

"Sorry, Iba-san," he apologized hastily. "Been a rough day at the office. You know how it is."

The burly lieutenant snorted. "Damn right I do. That's why I'm here." He jerked his head sharply to one side. "Let's grab a bite to eat and hit the taverns. Sound good?"

Hisagi wrinkled his nose. Food wasn't high on his list of priorities at the moment but he supposed he could use the down-time. He could think of few things worse than sitting restless in the office. "Rangiku-san put you up to this?"

"She mighta said something to Nanao."

Hisagi grinned. "You are so whipped."

"Ah, don't give me that shit. 'sides, you look like you could use some fresh air."

"Yeah, I could," Hisagi said tiredly, scrubbing his hands over his face to wipe the last dregs of sleep from his eyes.

Iba frowned. "You all right?"

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"You're worried about 'em, aren't ya?"

The younger brunet chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"

Iba shrugged. "They'll be fine. They're lieutenants, the both of them. They've got each other's backs."

"Yeah, I know. Just can't help but worry."

The burlier brunet stayed quiet for a few moments before suddenly grinning. "He's gonna kill you if he finds out." He was all too familiar with how Kira and Hisagi were with each other.

That made Hisagi laugh outright. "Good," he said before he could stop himself. "At least he'll talk to me then—" He cut himself short when he realized what he was saying and glanced sharply at Iba for his reaction. The 7th Division Lieutenant was staring at him oddly and Hisagi immediately knew he had heard. Thankfully, Iba didn't call him on it and Hisagi inwardly sighed in relief even as he berated himself._Fuck, I must be exhausted if I can't even watch what I'm saying anymore_, he thought. Then he shook his head to clear it and grinned at his friend.

"Let's get you fed and drunk," he said, pushing himself past the threshold. Iba grinned and led the way.

* * *

_Your scouts...they've disappeared._ Akon's words echoed in Kira's head as he ran. Rangiku was little more than a blur a few meters ahead of him, flash-stepping as fast as she could. They're her men, he remembered as he tried to keep up with her. _How could they have just disappeared from the grid? Are they injured? Are they dead? _

His heart hammered against his chest as adrenaline started to course through his system.

_About five klicks East-southeast of your current location_, Akon had said. That wasn't too far and they were getting there fast. He could barely see the 10th Division Lieutenant in front of him anymore. "Matsumoto-san, you're going too fast," he said into his comm link but there was no response. He cursed and picked up his pace, trusting the rest of their squadron to keep up. They were well past the perimeter and going off alone, or even together but too far apart, was a very bad idea. He tried to reach her again.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou," he said. "Slow down!" Squinting into the darkness, he struggled to keep her in his sight and had to clench his jaw tight to keep from calling out and giving away their position when she seemed to pause for a fraction of a second before leaping into the darkness and out of his sight. He unconsciously sped up, throwing caution to the wind, and skidded to a halt at the edge of a large clearing.

"Matsumoto-san!" He called out, unsheathing Wabisuke. He took a step forward and nearly lost his footing as the ground under his feet crumbled and his foot sank a few centimetres into the earth. He regained his balance and froze. Something was wrong, he sensed immediately as the little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Fukutaichou!" One of his men called out to him as they arrived and he shushed him urgently, staring out into the gloom, eyes and ears on the alert for any sign of movement.

Rangiku suddenly appeared by his side, Haineko at the ready.

"I can't find them," she told him and he nodded. He wasn't surprised.

"Stay here," he ordered. Tightening his grip on Wabisuke, Kira stepped farther into the clearing, feet crunching on the crusty ground, his every nerve on edge. A feeble gust of wind swept through the forest, swirling dust in the air in its wake. The forest was empty, that much Kira could tell. So why, he wondered, did he feel like he was being watched?

He was in the middle of the clearing now and he risked a glance back at the rest of the squadron. Rangiku was watching him intently.

Then he realized he wasn't alone.

"Kira!"

He felt its presence only a split second before he saw it. Something blurred on the other edge of the clearing, leaping forward and barrelling toward him, but it never got close. Something else slammed into Kira from one side, hurling him to the ground, and he twisted in time to see Rangiku plunge her zanpakutou deep into the roof of the hollow's mouth.

Scrambling to get up he rushed to her aid, helping her pull Haineko free from the dead creature. Sweat rolled down Rangiku's face and her eyes were wide. "Where the hell did this come from?!" she asked. "Why didn't we sense it?!"

Kira didn't care as he suddenly became very aware that the two of them were out in the open. He grabbed Rangiku by her wrist and made to pull her back to the rest of the squadron when all of a sudden what sounded like a clap of thunder erupted around the men standing by. He had a moment to watch their terrified faces before the ground split open under them, spewing dust into the air and swallowing their men.

"NO!" Rangiku screamed and Kira tightened his grip on her. "To the trees!" He bellowed. He saw several dark blurs speed out of the cloud of dust and up to the branches above. Both lieutenants shared a wide-eyed look before following their men.

"Sir, some of the men are still down there!" Harada, Kira's third seat, cried as soon as he landed on a tree branch. From below them he could hear men screaming, the terrible sound of it mixed with the frenzied snarls of Hollows. Kira's mind worked furiously even as his heart pounded in his chest, threatening to burst.

The hollows came from underground, layers and layers of soil muting their reiatsu and hiding them. _That's_ why the sensors couldn't catch them. _That's_ why they could come and go as they pleased. And because they killed everyone they came across...no one could tell the Soul Society where they came from.

_We have to let them know!_ His mind screamed. "Get higher up!" Kira shouted. "Get higher up and regroup!" He looked to Rangiku and she nodded, yelling at her men to follow orders.

"But the others—"

"There's nothing we can do for them," Kira cut his third seat off. The cries of the men from below them had stopped and the ground started to rumble ominously. The hollows' reiatsu surged around them. Kira's comm link beeped.

"Kira-fukutaichou, we've picked up—"

"I know!" The blond cut Akon off. "They're coming from underground!"

Akon said something more but Kira didn't hear him as he grabbed Harada by the front of his uniform, pulling him along in their ascent. All of a sudden the ground beneath them shook and they were forced to a stop. Rangiku cried out, lurching where she stood, as the tree she was on tilted sharply.

It fell—the entire _tree_ fell—taking the remaining 10th Division members and their Lieutenant down with it. Kira watched in horror as the forest floor came apart with a deep groan and all hell broke loose.

The hollows crawled out by the dozens. Taking advantage of the element of surprise and their vast numbers, they picked the hapless warriors off one by one, dragging them screaming through large cracks in the ground. The loose soil opened into gaping holes under those who tried to escape, swallowing them whole.

"Help them!" Kira yelled and his men rushed to comply. Harada moved to do the same but Kira stopped him. "Fall back," he ordered. "Find open ground then unlock the senkai! Get everyone through!" Despite the circumstances the man hesitated and the blond angrily pushed him along. "Go!" He shouted. "That's an order!"

He didn't wait to see if his third seat complied, trusting the man's discipline instead, before he dropped down into the killing field below. A hollow was waiting for him with its mouth wide open but he easily sliced it through its gaping maw, severing the upper half of its head.

"Matsumoto-san!" he called out and she answered with a feral scream as she thrust Haineko into the chest of a hollow that had just disembowelled one of her men. He hurried to her side. She was breathing heavily and she turned to the younger blond, wide-eyed and panicked.

"We have to get out of here!" he yelled over the chaos and reached out to pull her along. "We have to—"

The rest of his sentence was cut off when the ground gave way beneath him. He heard Rangiku cry out sharply and felt himself being jerked forward. He fell on his face on the forest floor, the impact disorienting him for a few seconds. When he regained his senses, he heard a strangled cry and saw the 10th Division Vice-Captain clinging to the edge of a pit.

"Matsumoto-san!" He threw himself to the ground on his stomach, taking hold of her arms. From deep within the pit he heard a hollow howl. Kira tightened his hold on his friend and tried to pull her up.

The howling grew louder and all of a sudden Rangiku stiffened and screamed. The hands she had on Kira's arms tightened in pain and the 3rd Division Lieutenant lost his battle against panic and fear. Dragging himself forward, he pushed an arm into the darkness around his friend and cried: "Shakkahou!"

The blast spell shot forth from his open palm, colouring a hollow's mask red before slamming into the creature and sending it back into the depths of the abyss. Kira closed his eyes against the blinding light and when he opened them again he was looking into Rangiku's frightened blue eyes. She tightened her grip on him and he held on with all his might.

"Kami-sama..." Rangiku whispered, her voice caught high in her throat from terror and pain as they both felt the edges of the pit start to crumble beneath them. Unable to move, Kira held his breath.

With a grinding roar the ground split open where they lay. Kira felt himself fall and drew the 10th Division Lieutenant to him on instinct. Rangiku cried out and they both fell into the chasm, plunging deep into impenetrable darkness.

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Hisagi sighed and shook his head. "I fucking wish."

The night air was cool on Hisagi's skin as he and Iba left the tavern. It was late and at this point he was tired and pleasantly buzzed despite not having had that much to drink. Iba was quiet and content next to him, already looking forward to getting home, and Hisagi followed his example, knowing that he was finally going to get some sleep tonight. He couldn't wait.

"So that's why I haven't seen him around lately. You at least know _why_ he ain't talkin' to ya?" Iba asked. He said it casually and without even looking at Hisagi, but the 9th Division Lieutenant recognized the seriousness underlying his casual tone. Iba was only pretending he hadn't known about this beforehand, and he obviously wanted an explanation. Hisagi wasn't quite sure he had one—at least not one he was willing to give the older shinigami—so he shrugged.

"You know how it is," he said. "One day things are great and we're getting along fine, and then the next..." _I act like a total bastard and ruin things for the both of us, _Hisagi finished in his head. He actually winced. "But it's nothing," he lied. "He'll come around." _I hope._

He felt his good mood suddenly start to diminish and he shoved his hands into his pocket. "There's just no getting through to him sometimes, you know," he said after a few moments of silence. "You expect him to understand because he's Kira and, shit, he's smarter than the rest of us, but in the end..."

_He doesn't understand shit_, the angrier, more bitter part of Hisagi's mind told him and he clenched his hands into fists as irritation sparked in the back of his mind. He quickly shook the idea out of his head. _It's my fault_, he reminded himself. _I couldn't make him understand._

"I don't know why I even bother," he admitted to the older shinigami, turning to Iba who had remained silent the whole time.

The burly man shrugged. "I ain't gonna pretend I understood any of what ya just said," he said bluntly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He took a long drag before blowing smoke out into the air. "But if yer as broken up about it as ya are now—"

Hisagi was about to protest but Iba stopped him with a pointed glare.

"—then maybe ya should just apologize to Kira."

"Hey! I never said this was my fault!"

"O'course it's yer fault," Iba scoffed. "Ya said it yourself: Kira's smarter than the rest of us, and fuck if ya aren't a couple o' watts short of bright." He grinned at Hisagi who actually found himself grinning back. "You kids never learn," the older shinigami said finally and Hisagi chuckled softly.

"No," he said. "No, I guess we don't."

"Lack o' experience. That's yer problem," Iba continued. "You've got a _long_ way to go, kid."

This time Hisagi snorted. "You practically _ask_ for it with Nanao, you know. Not all of us have your masochistic tendencies."

Iba only grinned. "Some people are worth the trouble."

Hisagi sighed. "Yeah, _some_ people," he muttered petulantly.

Iba abruptly stopped in his stride and turned to him. "Kira's a good kid. You know that." The graveness of his tone stunned Hisagi into momentary silence.

_Of course I know that_, Hisagi wanted to say. _No one knows him better than I do._

When he recovered Iba was walking again, and he had to hurry and catch up. "You're a fucking bastard, you know that?" he said once he reached the older shinigami, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "You should at least warn a guy before you throw that kind of shit at him." He rolled his eyes. "How Nanao can stand you, I'll never know."

Iba stopped suddenly and his face darkened. Hisagi blinked. "Oi, Iba-san, I was just—"

"Quiet," the burlier Lieutenant said and Hisagi's mouth snapped shut, afraid he had offended his friend. He was just about to apologize again when he saw that Iba was staring down the street and not at him. Following his friend's gaze he saw a figure standing twenty feet in front of them, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Who's there?" Iba called out to the newcomer.

The figure lifted his head and Hisagi froze. Harada! Even in the darkness he recognized Kira's third-seat and he was instantly at the man's side. The third seated officer was injured; he had a hand clamped tightly over a bleeding wound on stomach and his voice was hoarse with pain when he whispered "Hisagi-fukutaichou..."

"Shit, it looks bad," Iba said, eying the trail of blood behind the injured officer. He helped Hisagi lower the man down to the ground, propping him up with his back against the wall. "We've got to get him to the fourth or he could bleed to death."

Hisagi nodded and started to check on the man's wound. His eyes widened in surprise when Harada's arm suddenly shot out and grabbed the front of his shihakusho.

"Fukutaichou...Kira-fukutaichou..." The man gasped out and Iba frowned.

"This is bad," he said gruffly. "He's hallucinating."

"No," Hisagi said gravely. "No, he's not."

The tone of his voice made Iba turn to look at him. The younger shinigami's face was white as a sheet, and then it hit him. This man had gone to the transient world with Kira and Matsumoto. And this man had come back half-dead. Before Iba could stop him, Hisagi twisted his arm free of the injured man's grip and grabbed him by his shoulders. "What happened?" He asked urgently.

Harada lifted his head and looked plaintively at Hisagi. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. "You don't...you don't know..."

Iba watched the younger brunet take a deep breath and close his eyes. When he opened them again the intensity in them was frightening. "Tell me," the 9th Division Lieutenant ordered, tightening his grip on the man.

Harada nodded and reached out to take the lieutenant's arm. Hisagi's hands started to shake.

"Kira-fukutaichou..." the man said, and Iba held his breath as suddenly he felt himself grow cold.

"We lost Kira-fukutaichou."

**TBC.**

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* * *

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**A/N:** Dun dun duuuuuuu~uuuuun!!!!!!!!!!! Now, before you say anything...I love Izuru--I do! I swear I do!--but a writer has to do what a writer has to do. Even if she dies a little on the inside when she thinks about what she's doing to her boys (she totally loves it omfg).

...review? :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Static

**Pairing:** Hisagi Shuuhei x Kira Izuru

**Rating:** PG-13 because blood and the slaughter of masked monstrosities are involved.

**Warnings:** Yaoi. Mild violence (poor Hollows)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

**Summary:** Post-SS arc. Betrayal is a blade that cuts deeply, and you have to wonder who you can really trust.

**In this chapter:** A mission gone wrong, and a struggle to survive.

**A/N:** So I had about a third of this chapter collecting dust in my folders since March, was able to write up most of it back during my semestral break last October, but only managed to finish it today. Words cannot express how sorry I am that it took me eight whole months to cough up another chapter.

I doubt anybody is still reading this, but to the readers who are still with me I'm sorry it took me so long. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as ridiculously long! Keep your fingers crossed!

I also want to thank those who actually went out of their way to get in touch with me, asking for an update and encouraging me to continue. I coudln't have coughed up another chapter without your (guilt-tripping nyahahaha) encouragement. :D

Oh, one last thing: MED SCHOOL SUCKS.

* * *

**In the previous chapter:**

"Tell me," the 9th Division Lieutenant ordered, tightening his grip on the man.

Harada nodded and reached out to take the lieutenant's arm. Hisagi's hands started to shake.

"Kira-fukutaichou..." the man said, and Iba held his breath as he suddenly felt himself grow cold.

"We lost Kira-fukutaichou."

* * *

**Static:Chapter Five**

Hisagi didn't know Akon that well; no one did. Other high ranking shingami went to battle—to the front lines—and fought alongside him, but Akon? No. The Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute stayed in the control room, monitoring the progress of every mission, and watching friends and strangers alike live and die—just a droning voice relaying instructions, unfazed by the fact that his voice could be the last thing you hear. Akon was a cold, distant individual, and Hisagi supposed he would have to be as he felt his own pulse quicken in response to the blind panic in the control room.

"You have to give me clearance to go down there," Hisagi said as calmly as he could amidst the turmoil. It wasn't easy; everywhere he looked, whether it was at the screens showing the last of the shinigami still in the transient world trying to escape or the shinigami in the control room struggling to save their lives, he saw chaos. The sound of dozens of desperate voices all speaking at once assaulted his ears and it made him wonder how anyone could survive in the 12th Division with his sanity still intact. It reminded him why this Division was at the bottom of his list when he first joined the ranks of the Gotei 13.

In the centre of all the confusion stood Akon, raising an eyebrow at the young lieutenant. "You mean _send_ you down there?" he asked slowly, as if speaking to a small child. Behind him Rin was monitoring frequencies, his fingers a blur over the keyboards as the panicked demands for reinforcement and rescue from the shinigami still in the transient world were cut off before they could even respond. Akon glared at Hisagi. "I'm trying to get people _back_."

The Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute glowered and pushed past the young lieutenant, stalking to his console and scanning a dozen screens at once. He'd long since run out of cigarettes since the mission took a disastrous turn and his fingers twitched, a headache already brewing as three hours' worth of blaring alarms and hysteria started to get to him. He stared at the largest screen in the room, the one that currently displayed the remaining shinigami making their last stand against the hoard of hollows. It did nothing for his terrible mood.

"Are you sending reinforcements?" Hisagi asked behind him and he ignored the other shinigami, turning to Rin instead. "How many people are still outside of the perimeter?" He demanded, asking what he already knew.

"At least two dozen, sir," the young tech replied, wide eyes glued to his screen. "We're losing them fast! More hollows have surfaced and are making their way toward base camp!"

Akon cursed under his breath and his mind worked furiously to find a solution and salvage the mission somehow. There were dozens of shinigami still down there, vastly outnumbered by Hollows by at least eight to one by his calculation, and the Hollows came from underground so there was no way to detect them until it was too late. The perimeter was their last defence and it wouldn't hold for much longer; anyone outside of it was as good as dead. To top it all off he hadn't heard from either of the two Lieutenants leading the assignment. Akon cursed again. He had nothing; the mission was lost and waiting for a miracle was only going to cost more lives. He had to get those people out of there. "Give the order for an immediate evac," he commanded. "Unlock the senkai and get them out of there."

Hisagi suddenly stepped up beside him. "There's still time to get down there, Akon-san," he said. "I can go; I can go _now _and get there in time to—"

"To _what_? Get yourself killed?" Akon spat, his patience at its end. "Listen to what's happening down there, Hisagi! People are dying!"

"Damn right they are and my friends are out there!" Hisagi shouted, grabbing Akon by the front of his white lab coat. Standing there listening to panicked pleas for help and not hearing either Kira's or Matsumoto's voice was too much for him to take. "You have to give me clearance! There's still time!"

Unfazed by Hisagi's outburst Akon glared at the Lieutenant, the horns on his forehead making him look even more sinister. "Vice-Captains Kira and Matsumoto have neither been seen nor heard from in over two hours," he said coldly. "We don't even know if they're alive."

Stunned, Hisagi faltered with his next words and Akon shook himself free from his grip. He didn't have time for this. "I'm sorry," he said. "We're doing the best we can—"

Akon cut himself short when Rin's comm beeped and a woman's voice called out desperately. "Mayday, mayday! Can anyone here this?" He pushed a button on the console before Rin could even react. "Roger that," he replied. "Go ahead."

"Sir!" They could all hear the fear in her voice. "Fujioka from the 10th, sir. The Hollows have breached the perimeter! We're under attack!"

"Any word from Lieutenants Kira and Matsumoto?" Hisagi blurted out into the open channel and Akon glared at him. Fujioka didn't seem to hear him.

"Requesting back-up," she continued desperately. "We're taking heavy casualties. We're sitting ducks out he—Kami-sama, the Hollows are here!"

Static interfered with the rest of the transmission and Akon frowned. At first he thought the last statement was meant to reiterate her plight, but then he heard an all-too-familiar howl, followed by a scream, and then...nothing.

Rin took over. "Fujioka? Fujioka!" he shouted into the comm. There was no response. He checked the channel and saw that the line was still open. The transmission was still active, only there was no one on the other end. Not anymore.

From the far corner of the control room another tech called out saying more hollows had surfaced just outside the perimeter and were coming in fast. "Sir, the perimeter has just been over-run! Our men are scattering!"

Rin swung his chair around and looked at the two brunets towering over him. His face was grim as he struggled with what he had to say next. "Sir, at this rate any reinforcements we send won't make it there in time."

Silence fell throughout the control room save for the desperate voices still coming in from the open comm channels. They all stared at Akon expectantly and this—_this—_was the worst part of his job, to call the shots in life and death situations at a distance and make decisions that he felt he, being nowhere near the battlefield, had no right to make.

"How many people have gotten through?" He asked.

Rin turned back to his console and started typing. "Counting the few that returned through the unauthorized senkai under Kira-fukutaichou's orders...less than half of the men we sent out."

"They're headed for the senkai!" A tech called out.

No one made any indication that they had heard him, but his last syllable seemed to echo throughout the control room, bringing with it a sickening cold feeling that made Akon shudder and his stomach churn.

"Akon-sama..." Rin prompted after a few moments and Akon took a deep breath. His face was devoid of all emotion.

"Withdraw the reinforcements," he said. "We're closing the senkai."

* * *

"Way of Destruction number 31: Red Flame Cannon!"

Rangiku blinked several times as bright red light suddenly replaced the darkness. She looked at the ball of red light in her trembling hands and smiled.

"The last time I did this I blew up an entire wall," she said to Kira who was leaning over her with a worried look on his face.

The younger shinigami frowned and muttered "I should have thought of that" before reaching for the light she had in her hands. "May I?" he asked and she nodded. There was a brief pulse of the younger blond's _reiatsu_ and then the red ball of light split in several smaller spheres that rose up to float in the air and scatter around them, spreading the light farther out into the darkness.

"You people and your kidou," Rangiku teased even as she stared at the glowing orbs in awe. She had been knocked unconscious when she landed and had no idea how long she had been out. When she finally came to, it was to pitch blackness and sharp pain in her leg. Kira had apparently been conscious the whole time and had been tending to her injuries in total darkness with nothing but the faint light radiating from the power of his healing spell for illumination.

She hissed when Kira's hands returned to the wounds on her leg and the pain did well to back her to the reality of the situation. Now that she could see she tried to take stock of their surroundings. They were surrounded by rocks and dirt, encased in a small cavern barely big enough for either of them to stand, and she knew that it was only out of sheer luck that they hadn't been crushed to death or killed in their fall. The earth shook around them oddly, almost rhythmically, and something told her that didn't bode well.

"The hollows are trying to dig their way to us," Kira answered her unasked question and Rangiku's mouth went dry.

"How close?"

"Not so close," was all Kira said. _Not yet._

Rangiku had no idea what to say to that. Neither of them spoke and minutes passed in silence as she let Kira concentrate on healing her leg, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists in the dirt at the pain. She didn't ask about her men, and Kira didn't mention his. Neither of them spoke about their predicament, and Rangiku fought to quell the panic that grew inside her with each passing minute.

Finally Kira was finished and she was able to move and sit up with only a minor twinge of discomfort.

"How far down do you think we are?" She asked and the younger shinigami sighed.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Far enough that I can't get through to Akon on the comm link. And I can't feel anything but the hollows' _reiatsu_."

Rangiku nodded and tapped her own comm link. She got nothing. Then she reached out with her own _reiatsu_ and true enough she could only sense the hollows' ominous presence looming over them. And they were getting closer by the second. Dust rained down on them from the ceiling and Rangiku swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath.

"How long until they get here?" she finally asked and the younger blond shrugged.

"How do we get out?"

Kira shook his head and said: "I have no idea."

* * *

In the Mission Control Room the techs all sat slumped in their chairs. Their headsets were still placed firmly over their ears straining to hear, but nothing was coming from the frequencies. They heard nothing but static. They were all tired but tense, and Nemu admired them from where she stood observing them from one side of the room. It seemed as though they hadn't given up on the failed mission in the transient world. Or that they had, but didn't want to show it.

Her attention was momentarily diverted when she heard shouting and the tell-tale sounds of a scuffle come from the other side of the now closed steel door. She tore her gaze from her men's tired faces and turned to Akon.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked him and the Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute frowned.

"He was being insubordinate," he answered curtly. "He's lucky I didn't have him thrown behind bars."

Nemu nodded, knowing it was the truth. Then she reached out and touched the corner of Akon's lips. "You're bleeding," she said and he shrugged and shied away from her touch.

"The man can throw a punch," was all he said.

"He is worried about his friends."

"That's no excuse to lose his head," Akon glowered and then sighed. "I had to make sure the hollows wouldn't reach Seireitei," he said, almost to himself. "Sending anyone down there would have only meant more casualties."

Nemu didn't have to give the situation anymore thought to know that was true and Akon turned away from her as though in shame. Sighing, she reached into her pocket and procured a pack of cigarettes, offering it to him. He took one gratefully.

In front of them the screens were all blank. There was nothing they wanted to see in the transient world. Akon only kept the frequencies open because they had long gone silent, which meant that any important transmission—anything worth listening to, such as a whispered plea from a survivor—would get through and be heard immediately, because they couldn't send anyone down there unless there was anything to save.

So they all waited, and they listened.

* * *

"Ready?" Kira whispered urgently and Rangiku shook her head no, but before he could reassure her the ceiling split open over their heads and a hollow forced its head in. Its roar made the walls of the cavern shake.

"Shakkahou!" Kira cried and the spell hit the creature right in its face, killing it. He wrenched its dead body from the opening of the tunnel it had excavated and shot another red flame canon into the passageway before climbing in. Rangiku went after him.

By now it was pitch black again. Neither of them could concentrate enough to maintain any source of light around them as they fought for their lives.

Rangiku crawled through the tunnel as fast as she could, wishing there was some way she could help Kira clear a path for them. She could hear him sending wave after wave of kidou, blasting hollow and rocks alike, and for a moment she was afraid the tunnel would collapse and crush them. Quelling her fear she followed her friend, fervently hoping that the light brought forth by his spells wouldn't go out.

But it did disappear and her heart gave a painful lurch in her chest. Then she heard Kira's voice from somewhere farther ahead of her and she suddenly found herself at the end of the tunnel, climbing out into wider space.

"Matsumoto-san! Run!" She heard Kira shout. Heard him, but couldn't see him. She couldn't see anything! It was utterly dark, the sporadic bursts of red light from Kira's desperate attempt to cover her retreat revealing very little of their surroundings. But where her sight failed, her hearing more than made up for. She had no idea where the creatures were, if they were farther behind her or so close that they could almost reach her, but she could hear them howling and chasing after her with frightening clarity. She didn't dare look back.

A kidou spell shot past her and she ducked. The loud explosion that followed told her that Kira's spell had hit its target and the flash of red light from the spell was all she needed to find her friend.

"Kira!" She cried when she finally reached him. For a brief moment their eyes met, and each could see the fear on the other's face. Then the light faded and they were once again plunged into darkness. But at least they were together.

Rangiku unsheathed her zanpakutou and called forth Haineko, creating a deadly twister of tiny blades around the two of them to buy them some time. "You better think of something fast! We can't fight what we can't see," she told the 3rd Division Lieutenant. Already she could hear him muttering a kidou spell under his breath and felt _reiatsu_ gathering around them. Somewhere to her right she heard a pained howl and the sickening sound of flesh being shredded by her zanpakutou. That meant the hollows were close. For a moment Rangiku thought she could hear them breathing around her, but she wasn't sure. She didn't want to know.

Another howl and the same terrible sound of Haineko tearing into flesh rang out, followed by several more. Rangiku felt something warm and wet splatter over her, and that's it. She wasn't waiting for Kira.

"Shakkahou!" She cried out and the spell burst forth from her hands in an instant. Without waiting to see what her spell had hit she spun, searching for a way out only to find that they had none. The hollows were everywhere, surrounding them. Only the deadly ash cloud of her zanpakutou kept the creatures at bay, and Rangiku knew Haineko couldn't hold them back for long.

"Kira!" She cried out in warning but he was already up, his open palm facing directed right at her.

"Hadō 4: Byakurai!"

Blue lightning burst from Kira's fingers, narrowly missing Rangiku even as she dodged to the right, and slammed through Haineko's ash cloud and into the hollows on the other side. Bright blue light replaced the darkness as Kira maintained the steady flow of concentrated energy and directed it along a graceful arc, methodically incinerating hollow after hollow. Through the ensuing brightness Rangiku could see that they were in an underground chamber. Tunnels and fissures marred the rock face all around them, inky black against the gray walls that now reflected the light from Kira's spell, and she shuddered, thinking about where they would lead or what could possible come out of them.

_Kami-sama, what kind of hell hole is this place?_ She thought to herself. She quickly gathered Haineko closer around her and used the ash cloud to finish off the remaining hollows. Kira had gotten most of them; there were only a handful left. _Maybe we can still make it out of here_, she told herself, daring to hope._ Then find our way back to the surface and—_

A hollow suddenly leapt out from one of the tunnels, heading straight for the 3rd Division Lieutenant and bowling him over before she could even shout out a warning. Kira's spell swung dangerously, cutting deep through the rock walls before going out and immediately plunging the two lieutenants into darkness, but not before Rangiku saw Kira go down and a pack of hollows swarm over him.

"Kira!" she screamed but even as she ran to his aid she heard his voice ring clear above the snarls of the hollows shout "Bakudō 39: Enkosen!" and saw the faint yellow light of the arc shield through the silhouettes of the creatures swarming her friend. Acting on instinct she fired three successive bursts of shakkahou at the hollows, clearing a path so she could reach him. Summoning Haineko into a single solid blade again she decapitated the lone hollow still pinning Kira down.

Kira was on his feet in an instant. "Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!" He cried, and lightning shot forth from his fingers again—even stronger than before—and he struggled to control the surge as he levelled it at the remaining hollows. Rangiku could feel the power radiating off him in waves. But that wasn't the only thing she could feel.

A low rumble came from the ground beneath them, and Rangiku was very nearly overwhelmed with terror when she realized the hollows were going to tunnel out from right underneath them the way they did in the surface. But something in the way the earth trembled struck Rangiku, and it wasn't until a massive rock crashed down from above mere feet from where she was that she understood why.

"The chamber is collapsing!" She shouted to Kira who glanced back at her with wide eyes. A huge section of the rock wall to their left sheared away, and rocks and boulders started to tumble down as if to confirm it. Rangiku's mind raced as she thought of a way to survive this catastrophe and she remembered the numerous tunnels and fissures she saw from earlier. "Follow me!"

She dashed across the chamber, taking out the hollows that got in her way and only barely escaping being crushed by falling rocks. Kira was right behind her covering their retreat, which she was thankful for because she needed the light to find her way. Her vision narrowed to the largest of the gaping entrances to the many tunnels around them and she ran for her life, trusting Kira to keep up.

Switching to shunpo, she leaptand soared through the air, landing on the lip of the landed beside her and Rangiku started scrambling to get farther into the tunnel.

And then she heard it. Static coming from her comm link!

Kira must have heard it, too, because he immediately started shouting into his own.

"This is Lieutenant Kira Izuru!"

Rangiku turned and took over covering their escape as the younger blond continued to shout into the comm link.

"Can anyone hear me? We're alive!" she heard Kira cry. "Matsumoto and I are alive! We're underground! Is anyone there? This is a distress call! Request immediate rescue from anyone receiving this signal!"

Rangiku hoped with all her heart that someone was on the other end.

"I repeat: Matsumoto and I are alive—"

The ground twisted beneath their feet and Rangiku nearly lost her balance.

"Kami-sama...Go!" Kira cried, speaking to her now and pushing her along the passageway. "Ran, go!"

Rangiku scrambled deeper into the tunnel, which sloped upward. Kira resumed covering their retreat while still shouting into the comm link. A rock crashed down, missing her by only a few feet and she screamed. Kira ran into her from behind and they both went down and hit the ground with pained grunts. It was pitch black again. The tremors from the ground flowed through them, making them dizzy, but Rangiku forced herself to get up. Reaching out blindly into the darkness for the 3rd Division lieutenant she hauled him up with her and together they staggered as fast as they could up the tunnel.

They were forced to a halt when the ground became even more unstable and dust spewed out into the air around them, making it difficult to breathe. A deafening crash came from somewhere above them and Rangiku heard the frenzied shrieks of hollows not too far from where they were.

Another rock fell by them, closer this time. Rangiku felt Kira's hand take hers, but he stayed silent so she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Then Kira grabbed her roughly pushed her hard out into the gloom. She screamed again as she fell forward, reaching back for Kira but touching only air. She landed painfully and quickly started to skid downward. She had gone over a crest in the tunnel and was now on the other side of the rise! Her hands scrabbled at the ground for purchase, trying to slow herself down but it was no use.

"Kira!" She screamed but he didn't respond. There was no sign of him. She screamed for him again and thought she heard him call out in response, but it was difficult to tell in the chaos. Then her descent was abruptly halted as she crashed into something. The breath was knocked out of her and pain exploded all over her body. She tasted blood.

Dimly she heard Kira cry out through the comm link, and then everything went black.

* * *

In the Mission Control Room, Nemu watched Akon pacing slowly by his console, smoking his 5th cigarette. The anxiety had dwindled somewhat as the situation became bleaker as the minutes passed. Slowly, but surely, they were starting to give up. The crackle of static was starting to grate on even her unfeeling nerves.

Most of the tension came from Akon, who tried to look calm and aloof, but was obviously still edgy.

_Because he feels responsible_, Nemu reminded herself. Akon was still waiting, determined to stick the mission out to the very end, and she knew that no one had the power to make the Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute do otherwise. Nemu looked at him with pity.

Then one of the men suddenly perked up and his hand flew to his headset, pressing it closer to his ear. Covering his mouthpiece with one hand, he turned to everyone else in the room. "I've got something!"

Akon flicked a switch on his console and ordered the tech to feed the transmission into the mainline but with the superior hearing Captain Mayuri had given her, Nemu could already hear the transmission as if she were wearing the headset over her own ears and she tensed. The speakers crackled to life and a familiar voice was heard.

"This is L...tenant Kira Izu..." Interference disrupted the rest of Kira's message.

Akon pushed a few buttons on his console and tapped his own headset. "Repeat transmission, Lieutenant Kira," he said but their comrade in the transient world didn't seem to hear him.

Kira's voice continued to crack and spark from the speakers. "Matsumoto and I...alive...underground..." More static. "...distress call! Request immediate rescue...kami-sama..."

Frustrated, Akon punched a fist against his console. "Come again, Lieutenant!" Again Kira didn't seem to hear him. "Why aren't I getting through?" he asked Rin. He was all but exploding with anxiety.

"The interference, sir!" The tech exclaimed. "It's disrupting the transmission!"

"Sort it out," he ordered Rin, who started typing frantically on his keyboard. From the speakers the transmission started to play on a loop. From the sound of the Lieutenant's voice and the way the transmission crackled they way they did when the signal was too weak they wouldn't be able to get through to him in time, but Akon kept on listening and struggled to understand Kira's message. They all listened with bated breath to fragments of Kira's distress call, hearing the panic in his voice interspersed with the horrible crashes and screeching hollows in the background.

"I can't get through," Rin cried. "There's too much interference!"

"Just clean it up for me," Akon said urgently and Rin flicked one last switch and finally Kira could be heard loud and clear.

"This is Lieutenant Kira Izuru! Can anyone hear me? We're alive! Matsumoto and I are alive! We're underground! Is anyone there?"

The techs reeled from the fear they could hear in Kira's voice. The crashing they could hear in the background was getting louder by the second. Somewhere in the background they heard Lieutenant Matsumoto scream and Akon thought he was going to be sick.

"This is a distress call!" Kira's voice continued to shout throughout the room. "Request immediate rescue from anyone receiving this signal! I repeat: Matsumoto and I are alive—kami-sama...Go! Ran, go—"

There was a deafening crash and then the rest was lost in static. The transmission played into another loop and Rin swivelled his chair around. "Lieutenant Kira's line has been cut off, sir."

Wrenching his headset from his head, Akon tossed it aside and slammed his hands on his console. His face was unreadable, like a stony sculpture of the real thing.

Nemu stepped up beside him. "They could still be alive," she said. When he didn't respond she walked past him and started typing on his console.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Retrieving the coordinates form that last transmission." She spoke perfunctorily and without looking at him. "Kira Izuru and Matsumoto Rangiku are Lieutenants in the Gotei 13. We cannot simply abandon them," she continued. Then she turned around and looked at Akon coolly. "Or would you leave me to die if it was me down there?"

Akon stiffened. "Of course not, fukutaichou."

Nemu smiled.

Akon returned it briefly before grabbing the nearest tech. "Get me Hisagi Shuuhei," he ordered and the tech hastened to obey. Turning back to his console he brought the screens and monitors back to life, opening all channels in all frequencies. The others did the same and soon the room was buzzing with activity. In the main feed Kira's transmission was still on a loop.

"_This is Lieutenant Kira Izuru..."_

Akon sighed. Behind him Nemu quietly exited the control room in search for more cigarettes.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**TBC.**

**A/N: **Reviews will get me through Medical School. :D


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